Nov 13 -- The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has asked the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the continuation of the monthly Current Employment Statistics (CES) data collection for three years. BLS invites data users to provide comments to OMB on its request by December 14, 2020.
The CES program provides current monthly statistics on employment, hours, and earnings, by industry and geography. CES estimates are among the most visible and widely-used Principal Federal Economic Indicators (PFEIs). CES data are also among the timeliest of the PFEIs, with their release each month by the BLS in the Employment Situation, typically on the first Friday of each month. The statistics are fundamental inputs in economic decision processes at all levels of government, private enterprise, and organized labor.
The CES monthly estimates of employment, hours, and earnings are based on a sample of U.S. nonagricultural establishments. Information is derived from approximately 295,000 reports (from a sample of 150,000 employers with State Unemployment Insurance (UI) accounts comprised of 697,000 individual worksites), as of April 2020. Each month, firms report their employment, payroll, and hours on forms identified as the BLS-790. The sample is collected under a probability-based design. Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands collect an additional 8,500 reports.
BLS does not indicate that it is planning changes in the CES survey instrument.
CES webpage:
https://www.bls.gov/ces/
CES package submitted to OMB:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202009-1220-002 Click on IC List for survey instruments, View Supporting Statement for plans, methods, timeline.
FR notice inviting public comment:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/11/13/2020-25150/agency-information-collection-activities-submission-for-omb-review-comment-request-report-on-current
Point of contact: Edwin Robison, Chief, Statistical Methods Division, BLS Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics 202-691-6363 robison.edwin@bls.gov
For AEA members wishing to provide comments, "A Primer on How to Respond to Calls for Comment on Federal Data Collections" is available at
https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=5806