Occupational Requirements Survey (ORS)
1220-0189
April 2018
This clearance request is classified as a revision. Several changes to the ORS survey design and forms are being made as a result of additional testing, internal BLS workgroup review of collected data, and the needs of SSA. A detailed list of changes is provided in item 2 below and in Part B.
2018 Supporting Statement for the Occupational Requirements Survey
Justification, Part A.
This request is for the approval of a nationwide Occupational Requirements Survey (ORS). Under the ORS program, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will conduct an ORS survey at the request of the Social Security Administration (SSA). This clearance package covers three years of collection starting in 2018 and ending in 2021. The data elements have been evaluated by both BLS and SSA while the sample design has been thoroughly evaluated by BLS.
Estimates produced from the data collected by the ORS will be considered by the SSA to update occupational requirements data used in administering the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs. The collected data will also advance the mission of the BLS by making possible a detailed analysis and expansion of occupational data from several BLS programs, including the National Compensation Survey (NCS), the Occupational Employment Statistics program (OES), and the Occupational Safety and Health Statistics programs (OSHS), promoting the continued effective use of these data, and disseminating these data to a wider audience.
The ORS collects the following data to meet the needs of SSA’s disability program:
An indicator of “time to proficiency,” defined as the amount of time required by a typical worker to learn the techniques, acquire the information, and develop the facility needed for average job performance. This measure is comparable to the Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP) used in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT).
Physical Demand characteristics/factors of occupations. These measures are comparable to measures in Appendix C of the Selected Characteristics of Occupations (SCO).
Environmental Conditions. These measures are comparable to measures in Appendix D of the SCO.
Data elements that describe the mental and cognitive demands of work.
Occupational task lists, defined as the critical job function and key job tasks, to validate the reported requirements of work. These task lists are comparable to data identified in the Employment and Training Administration's (ETA’s) O*NET Program.
Some data needed for the ORS are collected by NCS currently from its sample of establishments. These data are collected with the same methodology for ORS sample establishments that are not in the NCS sample. The general establishment data collected in the survey samples are the same for the ORS and NCS. For ORS and NCS, these items are employees, occupations, divisions, or sub-units depending upon the application of the sampling procedure being used.
Work leveling data is collected during the ORS as it is currently collected in NCS. The work level data for each of the four factors has several levels reflecting increasing duties and responsibilities, and there are point values associated with each level.
The four factors are:
Knowledge – the amount of knowledge required for the job
Job controls and complexity – the type of direction received and the nature of the job
Contacts – the nature and purpose of contacts within a job but outside the supervisory chain
Physical environment – risks involved and physical demands
The elements above and the unique ORS data elements are collected by BLS field economists. “Field economist” is the BLS title for those who collect data from respondents. To collect ORS data, field economists interview respondents who represent the companies, organizations, and government units within the sample. Field economists conduct these interviews by visiting the company or by phone or e-mail contact. Other communication media, such as faxes, mail, websites, and e-mail are used to assist the process, depending on the wishes of the respondents.
Field economists often initiate contact with companies through personnel or Human Resource staff, but may have multiple respondents within a company providing different information based on expertise. The goal is always to find the best data source while balancing response and burden concerns. Human Resource and management staff are familiar with the requirements of an occupation from the employee hiring and performance perspective. This helps ensure the answers reflect the establishment’s needs and not how a job has been adapted to a particular worker’s skills or personal style. During data collection, many respondents will either consult with supervisors or employees with the field economist present, or will obtain information from more knowledgeable staff and provide it to resolve particular questions.
When asking questions, field economists do not rely on a scripted interview. Instead, they ask probing questions to get the information. Often, conversational interviewing techniques are used. Field economists might ask questions in different ways to different respondents. Some respondents will be experts in the field of human resources, job requirements or compensation, while other respondents merely maintain pay and benefit records. Because of the different levels of respondent knowledge, combined with the scope and complexity of ORS data collection, scripting an interview that covers most situations would be very difficult.
For ORS collection, the respondent does not complete the collection forms. The field economist asks for the needed information and uses the collection forms as a note-taking device. General establishment and specific occupation information is then entered into a web-based computer database called the Compensation Information Entry and Review Application (CIERA), which collects ORS data. Field economists use the ORS collection system after the completion of the interview with the respondent.
ORS policy is to collect the data in whichever manner is easiest for the respondents to provide and then reformat those data to conform to ORS requirements. This approach could cause some non-sampling error, but collection training and quality assurance programs are in place to lessen any impact on data collection.
SSA’s regulations require five steps of sequential evaluation to determine whether an adult claimant qualifies for disability benefits. For almost 50 years, SSA has relied on the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) as the primary source of occupational information to make medical-vocational decisions. Although DOL did not design the DOT for SSA use, SSA incorporated many of the DOT’s concepts and definitions into SSA’s regulations and policy. The DOL stopped fully updating the DOT in 1991 and, in 1998, replaced it with the Occupational Information Network (O*NET). DOL developed O*NET as a career exploration tool, and it does not measure strength and physical requirements in a manner consistent with SSA’s disability rules.
As occupations and their duties and responsibilities have changed in the last 20 plus years, the relevance of DOT-based information has declined. More than half of the determinations SSA makes at the initial level, and more than 80 percent at the hearing level, are medical-vocational determinations that require current occupational information about work that exists in the national economy. SSA will use the occupational information collected through ORS to develop a new occupational information system to replace the outdated DOT in the disability determination process, as outlined in the Social Security Act Section 223(d)(2)(A) and accompanying regulations.
The authority for the BLS to perform special work or services on a cost basis is 31 United States Code §§ 1535/FAR 17.5 of the Economy Act.
There are multiple stakeholders for the ORS occupational information, including the SSA and organizations involved in the disability community. The occupational information will be used to update, and improve the operation of, SSA’s disability programs, as described above. Specifically, the SSA will use ORS data in steps four and five of its disability benefits evaluation process, during which SSA must assess the functional impact of a claimants’ impairments and determine whether claimants can perform their past work or other work in the national economy. This process is described by the SSA in the Research and Statistics Note No. 2013-01. The BLS is presenting its work on the ORS to organizations such as the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals (IARP) and the National Association of Disability Representatives (NADR) to determine the specific needs of this stakeholder community.
Several changes are being implemented in the survey questions and materials from the previous ORS 3-year production clearance. The changes outlined below to SVP labels, Physical Element categories and items, and Cognitive Elements are based on additional testing, internal BLS workgroup review of collected data, and the needs of SSA. Many of these changes are routine survey maintenance to reduce burden or improve estimates. Changes to the cognitive elements are more extensive due to SSA needs.
Changes instituted from routine maintenance
The forms used for ORS collection reflect the following SVP Element changes:
The category “License and Certifications” is now called “Credentials”
The category “Post-employment Training” is now “On-the-job Training”
The forms used for ORS collection reflect the following Physical Element changes:
Created uniform categories across all “Lifting/Carrying” duration frequencies
Created a single element for collecting duration associated with stooping, kneeling, crouching, or crawling
Revised the collection of stooping, kneeling, crouching, and crawling to capture the physical demand incidence and worker choice aspect
Removed the hearing test requirement question
Revised categories for Hearing requirements: combining one-on-one and group hearing into a single category, and separating hearing over a telephone from other remote communication tools.
Removed of “Pushing/Pulling – Feet Only element
Relabeled “Communicating Verbally” to “Speaking”
Changes instituted from the ORS Cognitive Test
Field testing of new mental/cognitive questions was performed from September through November 2017. BLS will begin collecting new mental/cognitive questions as part of the revised survey design. The questions were developed by the BLS Office of Survey Methods and Research (OSMR) in conjunction with SSA. Following the first phase of usability testing, OSMR and SSA were further consulted in changes to the question wording to improve data collection. The ORS collection forms include the new mental/cognitive question wording.
The new cognitive questions cover:
Review Frequency of Work
Supervisor Presence
Control of Work Load
Work Pace
Pause Control
Problem Solving
Verbal Interactions
People Skills
Interacting with the General Public
Interacting with Crowds
Telework
BLS field economists obtain data from respondents through personal interview, telephone, e-mail, fax, and web-site contacts. After the interview, BLS field economists enter collected data into a database for ORS sample establishments in the survey. This application is a web-based, computer database system, Compensation Information Entry and Review Application (CIERA), using Oracle.
Some general information does not have to be collected from survey respondents as that data is available from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). QCEW is a relational database of business establishments linked longitudinally and based on the microdata submitted quarterly by States from Unemployment Insurance (UI) tax files. The QCEW serves as a sampling frame for the ORS and other establishment-based surveys. BLS data elements on these QCEW files include information on monthly employment, quarterly wages, business name and addresses, industry classification, geo codes, and other administrative data. Every business establishment contains a unique identifier that allows for tracking of individual establishments at the micro level across quarters for the United States. The BLS uploads these data into its computer system before the field economist visits the establishment, thereby reducing the burden on respondents to provide this basic information.
For sample establishments that are in the current NCS sample, the ORS will use the NCS data and only collect data on the ORS data elements for those establishments.
The ORS sample is designed to provide occupational requirements data that are representative of the national labor market. Therefore, information is collected from establishments of all sizes. Any establishment with at least one employee is a potential respondent. Respondents will not be asked to provide data more than once every five years for a sampled establishment, as described in Part B, Section 2a.
The aggregate collection burden on small establishments is significantly less than the burden on medium and large establishments. Establishment selection is performed using a systematic probability proportionate to size technique that uses employment as the measure of size. Therefore, larger firms have a greater chance of being selected. Furthermore, small establishments will have a smaller collection burden, because BLS collects data on fewer occupations in small establishments.
The Social Security Administration, Members of Congress, and representatives of the disability community have all identified collection of updated information on the requirements of work in today’s economy as crucial to the equitable and efficient operation of the Social Security disability programs.
There are no special circumstances for this collection.
BLS received one comment on the Federal Register notice published in 83 FR 30779 on June 29, 2018.
Comment on methodology from Handbook of Methods
One comment pertained to the relevant dates for methodology reports. Several of the documents do not clearly have reference dates noted in the content. The materials posted on the BLS website will be reviewed to ensure that reference dates are in the content as well as the file names. Where it is not present, it will be added.
There were several comments relating to the survey design described in the Handbook of Methods documentation available on the BLS public website. This documentation provides information on the survey design that was approved for the 2015-2018 year collection cycle. The survey methodology has been modified and described in Supporting Statement B, so many of these comments are not relevant to the current request. The comments regarding non-response adjustment methodology are applicable. However, the method suggested would significantly increase the respondent burden and cost of administering the survey. The survey reweight and imputation methodologies used in ORS are standard BLS practice to balance these costs and produce statistically valid estimates.
Two comments related to the classification structures used, and suggested additional coding of the United Nations industry structure. ORS will utilize the 2018 Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) structure and the 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). These are the coding standards used by Federal statistical agencies and can be cross-walked to other structures by data users.
An additional comment was that there is little or no direct observation of the work being performed, and that the collected data can be easily characterized as second-hand information. This concern was raised for the 2015-2018 survey design as well. BLS has conducted observation tests to ensure the validity of the interview collection methodology, and future validation testing is planned. Field economists during standard data collection are encouraged to observe the occupations when possible, but it is not a survey requirement. The collection of information in a Federal survey must balance the needs of maximum utility for data users against the burden placed on the respondent participating in a voluntary survey. Observation test results have not shown evidence the increase in respondent burden and survey costs are warranted. There are multiple challenges to including formal observation as part of the data collection that would likely decrease initial response rates. The tasks performed by many occupations vary over a workday or longer period, increasing the complexity of coordinating representative observations for each company job. Access to worksites for performing job observations is an additional concern due to safety, security, and cost issues.
Several comments requested further details be collected and coded for existing ORS elements. Additional elements were also requested. Among the requests were details of driving, adding color vision, and capturing language and math, which were also suggested by the commenter for the existing clearance.
ORS cannot capture all the requirements for an occupation. The survey must balance the SSA disability program need for the occupational data with the cost of collection and respondent burden. ORS focuses on the elements that are most critical to the disability adjudication, impact the largest number of cases, and where other data sources are insufficient for the program needs. BLS and SSA have worked closely to review the published ORS survey estimates and determine whether the type of information most needed to adjudicate claims is being produced. The revisions to the ORS data collection elements reflects this ongoing coordinated effort between BLS and SSA.
Multiple detailed comments were provided on the data collection forms. Several of the comments pertain to forms used in earlier testing and are not relevant. Forms submitted for collection are used by BLS field economists primarily for note taking purposes during the interview. These forms are not designed for direct respondent use. BLS field economists are trained on ORS detailed concepts and definitions, so certain information is omitted. They are aware of the differences inherent to the forms. The ORS Forms 4 PPD-4P/4G are designed for ease of collection by experienced BLS field economists. These are simplified versions of the ORS Forms 4 PPD 4PA/4GA. In addition, there are differences in the confidentiality statements provided to private and government establishments as reflected on the forms. Minor changes have been made to the forms to ensure consistency with final procedural guidance, but there were no changes directly based on these comments.
BLS staff engaged in extensive consultation with staff of the Social Security Administration’s Research, Demonstration, and Employment Support and Office of Disability Policy on all aspects of the survey.
BLS staff consulted with staff of the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) to learn more about the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) system.
BLS staff presented papers on the original survey sample design, at the 2015 Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM). BLS staff presented and discussed the revised survey design with the BLS Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) in November 2017. The ORS data has also been presented and discussed regularly at the BLS Data User’s Advisory Committee meetings.
BLS staff delivered public presentations on the ORS data at the following conferences:
2015 and 2016 Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM)
2016 International Conference on Questionnaire Design, Development, Evaluation, and Testing
Society of Government Economists conference in February 2016
Eastern Economic Association Conference in March 2016
Allied Social Sciences Associations conference in January 2017
2016 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium event in February 2017
Dallas Data User’s conference in August 2017
Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting in November 2017
Boston Data User’s conference in November 2017
Philadelphia Data User’s conference in March 2018
BLS staff attended and sometimes presented at conferences sponsored by the following organizations to keep them informed about the project and to learn more about the needs of the stakeholder community and possible uses of ORS data by them:
National Association of Disability Examiners (NADE)
Singapore Ministry of Manpower
International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals (IARP)
North Carolina Rehabilitation Association
Prudential Group Insurance
Missouri Rehabilitation Association
The Federal Partners
BLS consulted with an outside contractor to review methodological issues and previous research to ensure that data collected for the ORS meets the needs of SSA and various stakeholders as well as to determine if the occupational requirements measured in ORS are reliable, valid, and accurate. In 2016, research was conducted to determine the frequency of job requirements changes. Findings from this research are reflected in the revised survey design.
Summaries of research conducted by BLS staff and the outside contractor can be viewed on the BLS web site www.bls.gov/ors.
No payments or gifts will be provided to any respondents.
The Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA) safeguards the confidentiality of individually identifiable information acquired under a pledge of confidentiality for exclusively statistical purposes by controlling access to, and uses made of, such information. CIPSEA includes fines and penalties for any knowing and willful disclosure of individually identifiable information by an officer, employee, or agent of the BLS.
Based on this law, the BLS provides all non-government respondents with the following confidentiality pledge/informed consent statement:
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. Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, Federal information systems are protected from malicious activities through cybersecurity screening of transmitted data.
This statement appears on the private industry collection forms.
For the ORS program, the pledge of confidentiality is not extended to State and local government entities, unless specifically requested.
BLS policy on the confidential nature of respondent identifiable information (RII) states, “RII acquired or maintained by the BLS for exclusively statistical purposes and under a pledge of confidentiality shall be treated in a manner that ensures the information will be used only for statistical purposes and will be accessible only to authorized individuals with a need-to-know.”
Aside from the sensitivity attached to position description and working conditions, no sensitive questions are asked during the survey.
Estimates of respondent burden are provided in this section for all activities associated with the ORS program. Minutes per response is based on initial collection testing and current interview duration averages. For the purposes of the discussion of respondent burden and BLS cost, the ORS is an initiation-only survey. Respondents will not be asked to provide data more than once every five years for a sampled establishment, as described in Part B, Section 2a. For an ORS establishment that is also a sample establishment in the NCS survey, the collection of establishment information, work leveling, and work schedule and the associated time are covered and charged under the OMB Clearance for the National Compensation Survey (OMB Control Number 1220-0189).
Broadly stated, both private industry and State/local government establishments in the ORS collection fall into the following three categories below:
Activity (1a) - Initiation of establishments in the ORS sample where general establishment information, work levels, work schedules, and job requirements are collected.
Activity (1b) - Initiation of establishments in the ORS sample that are in the current NCS sample where ORS only collects the job requirements.
Activity (2) - Re-interview for quality assurance activities of ORS job requirements for initiations. Approximately five percent of the sampled establishments will be re-contacted to confirm the accuracy of coding for selected data elements
Activity (3) – Additional testing of occupational requirement collection.
Estimates of net respondent burden associated with these collection activities in FY 2018, FY 2019, FY 2020, and FY 2021 are broken out by affected sectors (private sector, State and local governments) and provided on the following pages. Collection of each sample occurs over multiple fiscal years; therefore, the total number of units collected during each fiscal year reported in the tables below may differ from the stated sample numbers provided in Part B, Section 1b.
Collection Activity |
Number of Respondents Per Activity (Net) |
Responses per Respondent |
Total Annual Responses by Activity |
Minutes per Response |
Total Hours |
Activity (1a) Initiation of ORS |
679 |
1 |
679 |
120 |
1,358 |
Activity (1b) Initiation of ORS NCS overlap establishments |
30 |
1 |
30 |
66 |
33 |
Activity (2) Re-interview for quality assurance activities |
35 |
1 |
35 |
15 |
9 |
Activity (3) Testing of occupational requirements collection. |
- |
1 |
- |
60 |
- |
FY 2018 TOTALS |
744 |
|
744 |
|
1,401 |
Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding. |
|||||
Collection Activity |
Number of Respondents Per Activity (Net) |
Responses per Respondent |
Total Annual Responses by Activity |
Minutes per Response |
Total Hours |
Activity (1a) Initiation of ORS |
8,143 |
1 |
8,143 |
120 |
16,286 |
Activity (1b) Initiation of ORS NCS overlap establishments |
357 |
1 |
357 |
66 |
393 |
Activity (2) Re-interview for quality assurance activities |
425 |
1 |
425 |
15 |
106 |
Activity (3) Testing of occupational requirements collection. |
1,275 |
1 |
1,275 |
60 |
1,275 |
FY 2019 TOTALS |
10,200 |
|
10,200 |
|
18,060 |
Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding. |
|||||
Collection Activity |
Number of Respondents Per Activity (Net) |
Responses per Respondent |
Total Annual Responses by Activity |
Minutes per Response |
Total Hours |
Activity (1a) Initiation of ORS |
8,143 |
1 |
8,143 |
120 |
16,286 |
Activity (1b) Initiation of ORS NCS overlap establishments |
357 |
1 |
357 |
66 |
393 |
Activity (2) Re-interview for quality assurance activities |
425 |
1 |
425 |
15 |
106 |
Activity (3) Testing of occupational requirements collection. |
1,020 |
1 |
1,020 |
60 |
1,020 |
FY 2020 TOTALS |
9,945 |
|
9,945 |
|
17,805 |
Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
|
|||||
Collection Activity |
Number of Respondents Per Activity (Net) |
Responses per Respondent |
Total Annual Responses by Activity |
Minutes per Response |
Total Hours |
Activity (1a) Initiation of ORS |
7,464 |
1 |
7,464 |
120 |
14,928 |
Activity (1b) Initiation of ORS NCS overlap establishments |
327 |
1 |
327 |
66 |
360 |
Activity (2) Re-interview for quality assurance activities |
390 |
1 |
390 |
15 |
98 |
Activity (3) Testing of occupational requirements collection. |
765 |
1 |
765 |
60 |
765 |
FY 2021 TOTALS |
8,946 |
|
8,946 |
|
16,151 |
Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding. |
|||||
Collection Activity |
Number of Respondents Per Activity (Net) |
Responses per Respondent |
Total Annual Responses by Activity |
Minutes per Response |
Total Hours |
Activity (1a) Initiation of ORS |
120 |
1 |
120 |
120 |
240 |
Activity (1b) Initiation of ORS NCS overlap establishments |
5 |
1 |
5 |
66 |
6 |
Activity (2) Re-interview for quality assurance activities |
6 |
1 |
6 |
15 |
2 |
Activity (3) Testing of occupational requirements collection. |
- |
1 |
- |
60 |
- |
FY 2018 TOTALS |
131 |
|
131 |
|
248 |
Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
|
|||||
Collection Activity |
Number of Respondents Per Activity (Net) |
Responses per Respondent |
Total Annual Responses by Activity |
Minutes per Response |
Total Hours |
Activity (1a) Initiation of ORS |
1,437 |
1 |
1,437 |
120 |
2,874 |
Activity (1b) Initiation of ORS NCS overlap establishments |
63 |
1 |
63 |
66 |
69 |
Activity (2) Re-interview for quality assurance activities |
75 |
1 |
75 |
15 |
19 |
Activity (3) Testing of occupational requirements collection. |
225 |
1 |
225 |
60 |
225 |
FY 2019 TOTALS |
1,800 |
|
1,800 |
|
3,187 |
Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding. |
|||||
Collection Activity |
Number of Respondents Per Activity (Net) |
Responses per Respondent |
Total Annual Responses by Activity |
Minutes per Response |
Total Hours |
Activity (1a) Initiation of ORS |
1,437 |
1 |
1,437 |
120 |
2,874 |
Activity (1b) Initiation of ORS NCS overlap establishments |
63 |
1 |
63 |
66 |
69 |
Activity (2) Re-interview for quality assurance activities |
75 |
1 |
75 |
15 |
19 |
Activity (3) Testing of occupational requirements collection. |
180 |
1 |
180 |
60 |
180 |
FY 2020 TOTALS |
1,755 |
|
1,755 |
|
3,142 |
Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
|
|||||
Collection Activity |
Number of Respondents Per Activity (Net) |
Responses per Respondent |
Total Annual Responses by Activity |
Minutes per Response |
Total Hours |
Activity (1a) Initiation of ORS |
1,317 |
1 |
1,317 |
120 |
2,634 |
Activity (1b) Initiation of ORS NCS overlap establishments |
58 |
1 |
58 |
66 |
64 |
Activity (2) Re-interview for quality assurance activities |
69 |
1 |
69 |
15 |
17 |
Activity (3) Testing of occupational requirements collection. |
135 |
1 |
135 |
60 |
135 |
FY 2021 TOTALS |
1,579 |
|
1,579 |
|
2,850 |
Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding. |
|||||
The table below summarizes the data, including figures on the actual number of respondents to be contacted each fiscal year.
Fiscal Year |
Respondents |
Total # of Responses* |
Average minutes per response |
Total hours |
FY 2018 |
708 |
744 |
113 |
1,401 |
FY 2019 |
8,500 |
10,200 |
106 |
18,060 |
FY 2020 |
8,500 |
9,945 |
107 |
17,805 |
FY 2021 |
7,792 |
8,946 |
108 |
16,151 |
Overall average |
8,500 |
9,945 |
109 |
17,806 |
Fiscal Year |
Respondents |
Total # of Responses* |
Average minutes per response |
Total hours |
FY 2018 |
125 |
131 |
113 |
247 |
FY 2019 |
1,500 |
1,800 |
106 |
3,187 |
FY 2020 |
1,500 |
1,755 |
107 |
3,142 |
FY 2021 |
1,375 |
1,579 |
108 |
2,850 |
Overall average |
1,500 |
1,755 |
109 |
3,142 |
Collection Activity |
Number of Respondents Per Activity (Net) |
Responses per Respondent |
Total Annual Responses by Activity |
Minutes per Response |
Total Hours |
Activity (1a) Initiation of ORS |
798 |
1 |
798 |
120 |
1,596 |
Activity (1b) Initiation of ORS NCS overlap establishments |
35 |
1 |
35 |
66 |
39 |
Activity (2) Re-interview for quality assurance activities |
42 |
1 |
42 |
15 |
10 |
Activity (3) Testing of occupational requirements collection. |
- |
1 |
- |
60 |
- |
FY 2018 TOTALS |
875 |
|
875 |
|
1,645 |
Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
|
|||||
Collection Activity |
Number of Respondents Per Activity (Net) |
Responses per Respondent |
Total Annual Responses by Activity |
Minutes per Response |
Total Hours |
Activity (1a) Initiation of ORS |
9,580 |
1 |
9,580 |
120 |
19,160 |
Activity (1b) Initiation of ORS NCS overlap establishments |
420 |
1 |
420 |
66 |
462 |
Activity (2) Re-interview for quality assurance activities |
500 |
1 |
500 |
15 |
125 |
Activity (3) Testing of occupational requirements collection. |
1,500 |
1 |
1,500 |
60 |
1,500 |
FY 2019 TOTALS |
12,000 |
|
12,000 |
|
21,247 |
Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding. |
|||||
Collection Activity |
Number of Respondents Per Activity (Net) |
Responses per Respondent |
Total Annual Responses by Activity |
Minutes per Response |
Total Hours |
Activity (1a) Initiation of ORS |
9,580 |
1 |
9,580 |
120 |
19,160 |
Activity (1b) Initiation of ORS NCS overlap establishments |
420 |
1 |
420 |
66 |
462 |
Activity (2) Re-interview for quality assurance activities |
500 |
1 |
500 |
15 |
125 |
Activity (3) Testing of occupational requirements collection. |
1,200 |
1 |
1,200 |
60 |
1,200 |
FY 2020 TOTALS |
11,700 |
|
11,700 |
|
20,947 |
Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
|
|||||
Collection Activity |
Number of Respondents Per Activity (Net) |
Responses per Respondent |
Total Annual Responses by Activity |
Minutes per Response |
Total Hours |
Activity (1a) Initiation of ORS |
8,782 |
1 |
8,782 |
120 |
17,563 |
Activity (1b) Initiation of ORS NCS overlap establishments |
385 |
1 |
385 |
66 |
424 |
Activity (2) Re-interview for quality assurance activities |
458 |
1 |
458 |
15 |
115 |
Activity (3) Testing of occupational requirements collection. |
900 |
1 |
900 |
60 |
900 |
FY 2021 TOTALS |
10,525 |
|
10,525 |
|
19,001 |
Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding. |
|||||
The table below summarizes the data, including figures on the actual number of respondents to be contacted each year.
Fiscal Year |
Respondents |
Total # of responses* |
Average responses per year |
Average minutes per response |
Total hours |
Average Hourly Wage Rate |
Total Burden Costs |
FY 2018 |
833 |
875 |
1 |
113 |
1,646 |
$45.34 |
$74,629.64 |
FY 2019 |
11,500 |
12,000 |
1 |
106 |
21,247 |
$45.34 |
$963,338.98 |
FY 2020 |
11,200 |
11,700 |
1 |
107 |
20,947 |
$45.34 |
$949,736.98 |
FY 2021 |
10,067 |
10,525 |
1 |
108 |
19,001 |
$45.34 |
$861,505.34 |
Total Average |
11,200 |
11,700 |
|
|
20,947 |
|
$949,736.98 |
*Initiations, quality assurance contacts,
and collection testing |
|
|
|||||
Overview of ORS collection forms
These forms are primarily used as note-taking devices by the field economists (BLS staff). The field economists ask probing questions that will vary depending on the knowledge level of the respondent. The forms provide the field economist with a list of the information required for the survey, not a list of all questions asked. For quality assurance re-interviews, the field economists will ask for specific items of data in a prescribed manner from data stored in the electronic database. ORS considers the establishment data in the electronic databases the official copy of the establishment data for survey purposes.
Information Collected |
Purpose/Activity |
Form used |
Time |
General establishment information, work level of occupation, and work schedule; records check of these data |
ORS initiation (1a)
|
Establishment, work level, and schedule
collection form |
54 minutes |
Initiation collection of vocational preparation, cognitive elements, physical demands, environmental conditions, and job tasks; records check of this collection |
ORS initiation (1a) ORS initiation (1b)
|
Occupation requirements (ORS Form 4 PPD-4G) Occupation requirements (ORS Form 4 PPD-4P) Occupation requirements (ORS Form 4 PPD-4GA) Occupation requirements (ORS Form 4 PPD-4PA)
|
66 minutes |
Individual respondent cost per year (for all ORS responses) is expected to be an average of $83.88 for FY 2018, $80.28 for FY 2019, $81.17 for FY 2020, and $81.86 for FY 2021. This amount is based on an average cost of $45.34 per hour per respondent. The estimate, based on previous NCS collection and ORS testing, is that 70 percent of reporting time comes from professional and related workers, and the remaining 30 percent comes from office and administrative support workers. Professional and related specialty earned an average of $53.64 per hour in total compensation; office and administrative support workers earned an average of $25.98 per hour in total compensation. (Hourly costs of pay and benefits measured by the Employer Cost for Employee Compensation data series for Civilian workers in March 2017.) The figure of $45.34 is a weighted hourly average.
Estimated annualized cost to all respondents for all activities is $74,629.64 in FY 2018, $963,338.98 in FY 2019, $949,736.98 in FY 2020, and $861,505.34 in FY 2021. These totals are based on an average hourly cost of $45.34 to the respondent.
There are no capital and start-up costs or operation and maintenance and purchase of service costs resulting from the collection of this information.
The ORS survey is part of the Interagency Agreements between BLS and SSA. The cost of the FY 2018 Agreement is around $29 million.
The initial sample design for ORS data was a three-year production wave using a two-stage stratified design with probability proportional to employment sampling at each stage. Under this design, occupations with low employment in the current economy have a smaller probability of selection. As a result, the first wave of collection resulted in an insufficient number of observations to publish ORS estimates for these low employment occupations. A revised survey methodology for ORS is detailed in Part B Section 1.
The changes to the sample design increase the number of respondents contacted during the survey. The increase in number of respondents, the reinstatement of the cognitive questions, plus an increase in the number of hours requested for additional testing, results in an increase of 3,457 respondent burden hours over the current burden estimate of 17,491.
The ORS data collected are to be published annually, as an ongoing annual survey. This information will be made available on the www.bls.gov website.
The BLS requests that the expiration date is not printed on ORS show cards or the ORS information sheet. This will allow copies of the materials to be retained and used instead of discarded when an expiration date is met.
There are no exceptions to the certification statement.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Hill, W. Steve - BLS |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-21 |