Federal Register: March 30, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 59)
DOCID: fr30mr09-88 FR Doc E9-6969
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Labor Statistics Bureau
NOTICE: NOTICES
DOCID: fr30mr09-88
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 May 29, 2009.
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 with 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 revision to the ``American Time Use Survey (ATUS).'' A copy of the proposed information collection request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the individuals listed below in the Addresses section of this notice.
SUMMARY:
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals,
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
I. Background
The ATUS is the Nation's first federally administered, continuous survey on time use in the United States.
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It measures, for example, time spent with children, working, sleeping,
or doing leisure activities. In the United States, several existing
Federal surveys collect income and wage data for individuals and
families, and analysts often use such measures of material prosperity
as proxies for quality of life. Timeuse data substantially augment
these qualityoflife measures. The data also can be used in
conjunction with wage data to evaluate the contribution of nonmarket
work to national economies. This enables comparisons of production
between nations that have different mixes of market and nonmarket activities.
The ATUS develops nationally representative estimates of how people
spend their time. Respondents also report who was with them during
activities, where they were, how long each activity lasted, and if they
were paid. All of this information has numerous practical applications
for sociologists, economists, educators, government policymakers,
businesspersons, health researchers, and others, potentially answering the following questions:
The ATUS data are collected on an ongoing, monthly basis, so time series data will eventually become available, allowing analysts to identify changes in how people spend their time.
II. Current Action
Office of Management and Budget clearance is being sought for the ATUS. This survey collects information on how individuals in the United States use their time. Collection is done on a continuous basis with the sample drawn monthly. The survey sample is drawn from households completing their final month of interviews for the Current Population Survey (CPS). Households are selected to ensure a representative demographic sample, and one individual from each household is selected to take part in one Computer Assisted Telephone Interview. In this interview, respondents are asked to report all of their activities for one preassigned 24hour day, which is the day prior to the interview. A short series of summary questions and CPS updates follow the core time diary collection. After each full year of collection, annual national estimates of time use for an average weekday or weekend day are available.
Beginning in January 2010, wellbeing questions sponsored by the National Institute on Aging are proposed to be added to the ATUS. These questions will be included in the survey for 12 months (through December 2010). These questions will ask respondents to rate on a 0to 6 scale how happy, tired, stressed, sad, and in pain they felt during randomly selected activities. Respondents will not be asked these questions about personal activities. Additional questions will be asked about general health, use of pain medications, and interactions with others.
The data from this module will provide a richer description of work. Specifically, the results will measure how workers feel during work episodes compared to nonwork episodes, and how often and with whom workers interact on the job. The results also can be used to measure whether the amount of pain varies by occupation and disability status. These data will also allow for research into how pain and aging affect time usage.
Because the ATUS sample is a subset of households completing interviews for the CPS, the same demographic information collected from that survey is available for ATUS respondents. Comparisons of activity patterns across characteristics such as sex, race, age, disability status, and education of the respondent, as well as the presence of children and the number of adults living in the respondent's household, are possible.
III. Desired Focus of Comments
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is particularly interested in comments that:
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Title: American Time Use Survey.
OMB Number: 12200175.
Affected Public: Individuals or households.
Total Respondents: 13,240.
Frequency: Monthly.
Total Responses: 13,240.
Average Time per Response: 19.75 minutes.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 4,358 hours.
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 24th day of March 2009. Cathy Kazanowski,
Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics. [FR Doc. E96969 Filed 32709; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 451024P
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Carol Rowan, BLS Clearance Officer, 2026917628. (See ADDRESSES section.)