Federal Register: July 20, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 140)
DOCID: FR Doc 00-18351
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Labor Statistics Bureau
NOTICE: NOTICES
ACTION: Agency information collection activities:
DOCUMENT ACTION: Notice.
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Proposed Collection; Comment Request
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the Addresses section of this notice on or before September 18, 2000.
DOCUMENT SUMMARY:
The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance
consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies
an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing collections of
information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program helps to ensure that
requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden
(time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are
clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on
respondents can be properly assessed. The Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS) is soliciting comments concerning the proposed reinstatement of
the ``National Longitudinal Survey of Women.'' A copy of the proposed
information collection request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the individual listed in the Addresses section of this notice.
[[Page 45112]]
SUMMARY:
Proposed collection; comment request,
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
I. Background
The National Longitudinal Survey of Women (NLSW) has been conducted since the late 1960s. Historically, the NLSW was collected as two surveys, the Survey of Work Experience for Mature Women (which includes women born from April 2, 1923 to April 1, 1937) and the Survey of Work Experience for Young Women (which includes women born in the years 1944 to 1954). In 1995, the Bureau of the Census, which collects the data for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, combined the mature and young women's cohorts into a single survey, a change that has improved the efficiency of survey operations.
The data collected in the NLSW contribute to the knowledge about opportunities and services for women who are in the labor force, want to reenter the labor force, or choose not to participate in the labor force. Survey data also contribute to the knowledge about women's ability to succeed in the job market and how their levels of success relate to educational attainment, vocational training, prior occupational experiences, general and jobspecific experiences, and retirement decisions.
Research based on the NLSW contributes to the formation of national policy in the areas of education, training and employment programs, unemployment compensation, and retirement income from pensions and Social Security. In addition, members of the academic community publish articles and reports based on NLSW data for the Department of Labor (DOL) and other funding agencies. The DOL uses the measurement of changes in the labor market to design programs that would ease employment and unemployment problems. The survey design provides data gathered over time to form the only data set that contains this type of information for this important population group. Without the collection of these data, an accurate longitudinal data set could not be provided to researchers and policymakers, and the DOL could not perform its policy and reportmaking activities, as described above.
II. Desired Focus of Comments
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is particularly interested in comments which:
III. Current Action
The 2001 NLSW will document work experience, labor force attachment, participation in educational or training programs, financial status, health, and health insurance coverage. The survey will be used to identify any significant trends in women's work experience as a whole. The survey will continue to obtain detailed information on the work history and pension coverage of respondents' husbands. In addition, the survey will obtain information on intergenerational transfers of time and money between respondents and their parents or their spouses' parents.
As in previous administrations of the NLSW, 10 percent of the sample in 2001 will be asked to participate in a brief followup interview that will last approximately 5 minutes. This reinterview is a qualitycontrol tool, in which managers at the Census Bureau ask respondents a few questions to verify that an interview took place.
Type of Review: Reinstatement, with change, of a previously approved collection for which approval has expired.
Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Title: National Longitudinal Survey of Women.
OMB Number: 12200110.
Affected Public: Individuals or households.
Total Respondents: 7,575.
Frequency: Biennially.
Total Responses: 7,575.
Average Time Per Response: 60 minutes for pretest and main fielding; 5 minutes for reinterview.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 6,976.
Estimated
Form Total Frequency Total Average time total burden
respondemts responses per response (in hours)
Pretest...................... 30 Biennially...... 30 60 minutes..... 30
Main Fielding................ 6,859 Biennially...... 6,859 60 minutes..... 6,889
Reinterview.................. 686 Biennially...... 686 5 minutes...... 57
Totals................... 7,575 /////////..... 7,575 60 minutes..... 6,976
An allowance of 30 extra hours has been added to the burden estimate for the main fielding to account for the
possibility of a complete pretest failure, which would necessitate interviewing pretest respondents during the main fielding period.
Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): $0.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget approval of the information collection request; they also will become a matter of public record.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 14th day of July 2000. Karen A. Krein,
Acting Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
[FR Doc. 0018351 Filed 71900; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 451024M
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Sytrina D. Toon, BLS Clearance Officer, telephone number 2026917628. (See Addresses section.)