Note to Reviewer - Revised Materials for November 2020

MEMORANDUM FOR:

FROM: Tyra Fails

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections

Division of Occupational Employment Statistics

SUBJECT: Revised materials for the November 2020 panel

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) Program has been working with the BLS Office of Survey Methods and Research (OSMR) to improve its collection materials. The OES program seeks OMB approval to revise the following solicitation materials, with an effective date of November 12, 2020.

Point Wage Form (Previously known as the “Integrated Form”)

OES and OSMR have determined that the following revisions would enhance respondents’ reporting experience by providing respondents with clearer examples and more information to help respondents more easily and accurately complete the form:

1. Enlarge write-in spaces – Enlarging the write-in spaces on the Point Wage Form will allow for more legible responses.

2. Include a note to establishments that directs them to report electronically or by phone if their business is closed – Including this direction will result in more thorough address refinement for states, and ensure that closed businesses are marked appropriately so that they will no longer receive solicitation materials in the future.

3. Include the URL to school instructions – Including this URL will allow reporters for schools to easily find the reporting instructions that address a variety of pay structures used in schools, which will result in better wage data for schools.

4. Update the sample responses within the instruction page – OES plans to use better examples of sample responses on the instruction page. This update will assist respondents questioning how to report their data.

5. Updates to the “Report” and “Do Not Report” bullets – OES plans to change the language in these bullets to make them more understandable to respondents.

6. Update the chart on Page 4 with the latest OES estimates – Since OES has published new estimates, we will be updating the chart on Page 4 to reflect the most current estimates.

Pre-Notification Letter, Initial, and Follow-Up Letters

Minor changes to the letters and the online reporting instructions will provide clarity and a better understanding the flow of steps.

1. The pre-notification, initial, and follow-up letters are being revised to include the respondent’s specific IDCF/schedule number within the body of the letter in addition to the original location (printed on the mailing address). Including the IDCF/schedule number in the body of the letter will make it much easier for the respondent to find it when needed, and reduce state burden of respondent questions about the location of then IDCF numbers.

2. The “Important” box on the initial and follow-up letters will be moved to appear before “Step 1” in the online reporting instructions. Moving the “Important” box to appear before “Step 1” will provide better visibility to respondents and improve the flow the steps.

3. The steps of the online reporting process were updated to in keeping with updates to Weblite. Additionally, minor text adjustments will take place to keep the form consistently spaced.

Weblite Screenshots

Updates to the language on the Weblite instrument and the inclusion of additional functionality will allow OES to capture information that will improve OES estimates:

1. In order to better phrase questions regarding temporarily closed establishments. OES will add language that will ask respondents to include employees who are working remotely or not working but are still being paid. The purpose of this change is to better capture the employment data during the November 2020 panel, with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

2. Additionally, OES will expand Weblite functionality to collect exact wage rates (also known as point wages) from small establishments instead of wage ranges. The purpose of this revision is to improve OES estimates by collecting specific wage rates. Large establishments frequently respond by uploading a spreadsheet with exact wage rates on Weblite, and OES will now collect exact wage rates for smaller establishments as well. OES will retain the ability to collect wage range data in case that flexibility is needed.