Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register, Volume 83 Issue 81 (Thursday, April 26, 2018)

Federal Register Volume 83, Number 81 (Thursday, April 26, 2018)

Notices

Pages 18273-18274

From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov

FR Doc No: 2018-08740

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act.

Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.

Title: Quarterly Services Survey.

OMB Control Number: 0607-0907.

Form Number(s): QSS-1A, QSS-1E, QSS-1PA, QSS-1PE, QSS-2A, QSS-2E, QSS-3A, QSS-3E, QSS-3SA, QSS-3SE, QSS-4A, QSS-4E, QSS-4FA, QSS-4FE, QSS-4SA, QSS-4SE, QSS-5A, QSS-5E.

Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Number of Respondents: 22,150.

Average Hours per Response: Between 10 and 15 minutes. The average is 13 minutes.

Burden Hours: 19,087.

Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau requests an extension of the current Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance of the Quarterly Services Survey (QSS). The QSS covers employer firms with establishments located in the United States and classified in select service industries as defined by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The QSS coverage currently includes all or parts of the following NAICS sectors: Utilities (excluding government owned); transportation and warehousing (except rail transportation and postal); information; finance and insurance (except funds, trusts, and other financial vehicles); real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical services (except offices of notaries); administrative and support and waste management and remediation services; educational services (except elementary and secondary schools, junior colleges, and colleges, universities, and professional schools); health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation; and other services (except public administration). The primary estimates produced from the QSS are quarterly estimates of total operating revenue and the percentage of revenue by source. The survey also produces estimates of total operating expenses from tax-exempt firms in industries that have a large not-for-profit component. For hospitals, the survey produces estimates of the number of inpatient days and discharges, and for select industries in the arts, entertainment, and recreation sector, the survey produces estimates of admissions revenue.

Firms are selected for the QSS using a stratified design with strata defined by industry, tax status, and estimated size based on annual revenue. The sample is a subsample of firms from the larger Service Annual Survey (OMB #0607-

Page 18274

0422). Each quarter the QSS sample is updated to reflect the addition of new businesses and the removal of firms that have gone out-of-

business.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis uses the survey results as input to its quarterly Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and GDP by industry estimates. The estimates provide the Federal Reserve Board, Council of Economic Advisers, and other government and private policymakers with timely information to assess current economic conditions. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services use the QSS estimates to develop hospital-spending estimates for the National Accounts. Other government and private stakeholders also benefit from a better understanding of important cyclical components of the U.S. service economy.

Affected Public: Businesses, Not-for-profit institutions.

Frequency: Quarterly.

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Sections 131 and 182.

This information collection request may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to email protected or fax to (202) 395-5806.

Sheleen Dumas,

Departmental Lead PRA Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer.

FR Doc. 2018-08740 Filed 4-25-18; 8:45 am

BILLING CODE 3510-07-P