Note to Reviewer - Test Collection of Additional Data Elements

April 2, 2014

MEMORANDUM FOR: Reviewer of OES (1220-0042)

FROM: Carrie Jones, Supervisory Economist

Division of Occupational Employment Statistics

Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics

Bureau of Labor Statistics

SUBJECT: Test Collection of Extra Data Elements AAMC

Clearance is being sought for the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Occupational Employment Survey (OES) for testing the collection of additional data elements to the OES.

Information on this testing was included in the future research section of the OES Supporting Statement (Section B, #4) of the most recent Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance which was approved on 10/30/2013.

“Many employers already provide many data elements in their electronic OES report that we do not ask for. These data elements include information that is requested by customers, but cannot be provided by OES or other BLS surveys. For example, establishments report data items along with the occupation and wages such as: part-time or full-time status, hours, whether or not employees are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act, gender, age, EEO category, union status, specific job title, department, and others. While some of these occupational characteristics are available from other BLS sources, none are available for states and all areas, and in the case of demographic data, they cannot be associated with a particular employer’s industry or size, and are not available for many occupations. Examination of the data already provided shows a wealth of information that will be the subject of an upcoming BLS article. A Response Analysis Survey (RAS) conducted in 2011-12 showed that most employers are willing to provide additional data like hours worked and part-time/full-time status.”

OES has begun work on this test. Phase 1 was conducted using OSMR’s research clearance (OMB CLEARANCE 1220-0141 “Cognitive and Psychological Research”), and asked a small sample of respondents if they were able to provide 12 selected extra data elements. It also asked if the respondent was willing to provide these data elements. Phase 1 was fielded in March 2014 and is expected to conclude at the end of April 2014.

The next phase (Phase 2) involves sampling 433 establishments over three waves with the expectation that we receive 300 usable responses. OES will ask the respondents to provide both the occupational employment and wage data collected by OES, and other data elements. Each wave is sampled so that we end up with 100 usable responses. The waves are spaced about two to three months apart to allow for mail out, data collection, review, as well as an assessment of the data collection methodology and associated materials. The purpose of the three waves is to allow for refinement and testing of the solicitation materials based on the results of each wave. Wave 1 sample has 133 units in the sample and uses previous OES responders from the May 2013 panel as the frame. The frame was stratified by employment size classes: 1 to 19, 20 to 99, 100 to 249, and 250+ employment. The frame was sorted within each strata by industry sector, then a SRS was selected.

Waves 2 and 3 are a sample of 150 establishments each and is drawn from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). Units excluded from the sampling frame were: All Central Office Clearinghouse (which already have pre-arranged data collection agreements with the BLS), any unit selected into the wave 1 sample, State government The frame was stratified by employment size classes: 1 to 19, 20 to 99, 100 to 249, and 250+ employment. The allocated value to each strata was determined by inflating the sample size of 25 by a predicted probability of responding to the survey. The predicted probability of responding to the survey came from the 2013Q2 master data file. The frame was sorted within each strata by industry sector, then a SRS was selected.

The list of additional data elements is based on the previous (Phase 1) research. The final list of additional data items will be based on what respondents are able and willing to provide. Further, the burden hours associated with complying for the requested data is also based on the Phase 1 results.

Phase 2 requires a non-substantial modification to the OES clearance to include the additional hours of respondent burden for the testing. Based on Phase 1 results we estimate that it will take 2.5 hours per establishment to provide these extra data elements, and are requesting 750 additional burden hours for this test; however, it is likely that the actual burden will be less since we plan to eliminate elements that respondents are not able or are unwilling to provide.

OES has developed materials for the collection of the extra data elements. Please see the included solicitation materials (form, letter, fact sheet) that will be provided to the test respondents. There are materials designed for smaller establishments (those with 19 or fewer employees) and materials for larger establishments (20 or more employees). Please note that although the form has all 12 data elements listed, that number may be reduced based on the final results of Phase 1 and each wave of Phase 2. We will provide the finalized copy of the form and other materials as soon as they become available.

The breakdown of the requested burden hours is below:

Survey year	Mandatory / voluntary	Ownership	NAICS Coverage	Estimated Responding Units	Estimated burden hours
FY 2014	Voluntary	private	1133, 1151, 1152, 21-81 (exc. 814)	256	640
	Voluntary	government	State and local government	11	28
	Mandatory	private	1133, 1151, 1152, 21-81 (exc. 814)	32	80
	Mandatory	government	State and local government	1	2
	Total			300	750