Justification for Nonsubstantive Change

For fiscal years 2007 and 2008 the President’s budget request included a budget initiative for expanding the collection of data for the Services industries. The initiative would be implemented in three phases. Phase 1 would expand the Quarterly Services Survey (QSS) to include Ambulatory Health Services, Social Assistance Services, Other Services, Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation, Truck Transportation, Couriers and Messengers, and Warehousing and Storage, and Rental and Leasing Services. This expansion will increase the QSS coverage of GDP from 17 percent to 30 percent and mimic the sector coverage of the Service Annual Survey (SAS).

Phase 2 would expand SAS to include the remainder of Finance and Insurance, the remainder of Transportation and Warehousing, Educational Services, the remainder of Real Estate and Rental and Leasing, and Utilities. This expansion will increase the SAS coverage of GDP from 30 percent to 55 percent and mimic the sector coverage of the Economic Census.

Phase 3 would expand QSS to include Finance and Insurance, the remainder of Transportation and Warehousing, Educational Services, the remainder of Real Estate and Rental and Leasing, Utilities, and Accommodations. This expansion will increase the QSS coverage of GDP from 30 percent to 55 percent and mimic the sector coverage of the SAS and the Economic Census.

For both FY07 and FY08 the President’s budget provided by Congress did not include this proposed initiative. The same initiative was included in the President’s budget request for FY 09. Using Census funds the Census Bureau plans to begin preparation for this expansion by collecting data in the QSS for Ambulatory Health Services and Social Assistance Services, and Securities Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities this year.

The Ambulatory Health Services and Social Assistance Services Industries were included as part of the Phase 1 expansion of the QSS which was approved by OMB in October 2006. We plan to mail these sampling units at the end of March 2009.

The Securities Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities industries -- a part of the Finance and Insurance sector and the subject of this nonsubstantive change request -- were planned for phase 3 and contain about 368 sampling units. We would like to mail these industries at the end of June 2009. These industries were moved ahead in the schedule because of the increased importance to obtain reliable data for these industries during our country’s financial crisis.

No new or revised form will be used to collect data from the Securities Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities industries. The current QSS-4(A) and QSS-4(E) forms will be used. Additionally, no burden will be added to the collection of information because the October 2006 OMB approval for the Phase 1 expansion, which has never been fully realized included sufficient burden hours to cover this portion of the planned services expansion.