Form 1st letter mail sc 1st letter mail sc 1st letter mail screening

United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics

The Bureau of Labor Statistics needs your help. We are getting ready to conduct the Housing Survey in your city, and have asked Strategic Research Group, an independent research firm, to help us determine whether households in your area are owned or rented. By answering just a few questions today, you will help us reduce the overall cost of the survey (compared to calling you or coming to your home). Although your participation is voluntary, this information is very important and will only take a moment of your time to complete and send back to us. Your response will be kept confidential.

The Housing Survey, along with other data, is used to create the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The CPI is the most widely used measure of inflation and, among many uses, is used to adjust the:

• Cost of living payments for about 48 million Social Security beneficiaries.

• Cost of lunches for about 27 million school children.

• Federal income tax structure to prevent inflation-induced increases in taxes.

• Payments in collective bargaining agreements.

To learn more, please visit our website: http://www.bls.gov/cpi/

Please complete the enclosed survey and return it right away in the postage paid return envelope to Strategic Research Group. If you have any questions please call 1 800 341-3660 and ask for Pat.

Thank you for your help!

S

incerely yours,

Dr. Keith Hall

Commissioner

United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics

Questionnaire

Please answer the question below and return it to the Strategic Research Group in the enclosed postage paid return envelope.

If you prefer, you can answer the question on the web by visiting www.websrg.com/BLS2009 and entering the following passcode: {insert passcode here}.

Who currently lives at this address?

Thinking about all of the adults who live at this address, please answer the following questions.

Yes No

1 . Does this address belong to a business or other non-residential structure in which no one lives?

2 . Does the owner live at this address?

(The “owner” includes an individual that holds a mortgage)

3 . Does at least one adult in this household pay rent?

4 . Does some other living arrangement exist for an adult at this address?

If yes, please describe____________________________ _________________________________________

Once you have finished please fold this page and return in the enclosed stamped envelope.

Thank you for your help!

Your participation is voluntary.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, its employees, agents, and partner statistical agencies, will use the information you provide for statistical purposes only and will hold the information in confidence to the full extent permitted by law. In accordance with the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 (Title 5 of Public Law 107-347) and other applicable Federal laws, your responses will not be disclosed in identifiable form without your informed consent.

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice

The time needed to complete this survey was estimated to be less than 5 minutes. If you have comments concerning the accuracy of this time estimate or suggestions for making the survey simpler, you can write to: Office of Prices and Living Conditions, 2 Massachusetts Ave., NE, Rm. 3655, Washington, DC 20212. The OMB control number for this voluntary survey is 1220-0163. Without a currently valid number BLS would not be able to conduct this survey.