OPT Stakeholder Outreach Survey

INTRODUCTION

Welcome! Thank you for your interest in providing feedback on BLS Productivity Data. Productivity data are used to forecast and analyze changes in prices, wages, and technology.

This survey is being conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Productivity Program. The purpose of this 10-minute survey is to find out more about how you use BLS productivity data so that we can continue to provide you with the highest quality data possible. The survey questions are based on broad user experience and responses will be aggregated for analysis.

Please complete this survey by 11/16/2021. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact productivity@bls.gov.

We appreciate your feedback. Thank you for contributing to this important effort.

This voluntary study is being conducted under OMB Number 1225-0088. The current expiration date is 1/31/2024. Without this currently approved number, we could not conduct this survey. We estimate it will take 10 minutes to complete this voluntary survey. This survey is being administered by surveymonkey.com and resides on a server outside of the BLS Domain. The BLS cannot guarantee the protection of survey responses and advises against the inclusion of sensitive personal information in any response.

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BACKGROUND

The BLS Productivity Program has two primary types of productivity statistics:

• Labor productivity is a measure of economic performance that compares the amount of goods and services produced (output) with one input, labor hours worked to produce those goods and services.

• Multifactor productivity (MFP), or total factor productivity (TFP), compares output produced to the amount of combined inputs used to produce those goods and services. Inputs can include labor, capital, energy, materials, and purchased services.

1. Have you used or accessed BLS productivity data products (for example, data files, news releases, articles, charts, tables, etc.) in the last 12 months?

   1. Yes

   2. No (go to non-user section)¹

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2. (If Q1=yes) For what purposes do you use BLS productivity data? Select all that apply.

   1. Personal interest

   2. Economic analysis

   3. Market analysis

   4. Policy analysis

   5. Forecasting

   6. Research

   7. Educational/teaching purposes

   8. Media reporting

   9. Other (please specify)

3. Which BLS productivity products do you use? Select all that apply.

   1. Data files (xlsx or csv)

   2. News releases

   3. Articles

   4. Videos

   5. Interactive Charts/Dashboards

   6. Productivity 101

   7. HTML or PDF Tables

   8. None of the above

   9. Other (please specify)

4. How often do you use or access BLS productivity data (for example, data files, news releases, articles, charts, tables, etc.)?

   1. At least once a month

   2. At least once a quarter

   3. At least once a year

   4. Less than once a year

   5. Never

5. Do you use or access any productivity data from sources other than the BLS?

   1. Yes

   2. No (Skip to Q13)

6. (If Q5=yes) For what reasons do you use or access productivity data from sources other than the BLS? Select all that apply.

   1. Data are not in the file format I need (if selected, Q7 will be displayed)

   2. Data are not available or detailed enough for the industry or sector (if selected, Q8 will be displayed)

   3. Data are not available or detailed enough for the geographic area I require (if selected, Q9 will be displayed)

   4. Data are difficult to locate/BLS productivity related web pages are difficult to navigate

   5. Data are not current enough for my needs (if selected, Q10 will be displayed)

   6. Data are not explained and/or presented clearly (if selected, Q11 will be displayed)

   7. Other, please specify

7. (If Q6 =a) You indicated that BLS productivity data are not available in the file format you require. Which file formats do you require? (optional) (open-ended)

8. (If Q6=b) You indicated that BLS productivity data are not available or detailed enough for the industry or sector you require. Which industry or sectors would you like to see? (optional) (open-ended)

9. (If Q6=c) You indicated that BLS productivity data are not detailed enough for the geographic area you require. Which geographic area(s) do you require? (optional) (open-ended)

10. (If Q6=e) You indicated that BLS productivity data are not current enough for your needs. Please explain how we could improve this. (optional) (open-ended)

11. (If Q6=f) You indicated that BLS productivity data are not explained and/or presented clearly. Please explain how we could improve this. (optional) (open-ended)

12. (If Q5=yes) Please describe the other sources of productivity data you use or access (open-ended)

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The BLS productivity program recently launched data visualization products (such as the Contributions to Output Growth, Interactive Chart Dashboards, and the Industry Productivity Viewer). These products are designed to give the user a different way to explore the data.

13. How satisfied are you with the BLS productivity data visualization offerings?

• Very satisfied

• Satisfied

• Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

• Dissatisfied

• Very dissatisfied

• N/A, I am unfamiliar with the productivity data visualization offerings

14. (If Q13=dissatisfied or very dissatisfied) How could the data visualization offerings be improved? (open-ended)

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The BLS productivity program recently launched measures of labor productivity by state, including a comprehensive dataset and interactive charts and maps. These measures provide productivity data by state and region, and how each state contributes to national productivity trends.

15. How satisfied are you with the BLS state productivity data offerings?

• Very satisfied

• Satisfied

• Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

• Dissatisfied

• Very dissatisfied

• N/A, I am unfamiliar with the productivity data visualization offerings

16. (If Q15=dissatisfied or very dissatisfied) How could the state productivity measures be improved? (open-ended)

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17. The BLS productivity program produces a variety of methodological and technical documentation to aide our data users in understanding the data. How satisfied are you with the following BLS productivity data technical documentation on the BLS website?

	Very satisfied	Satisfied	Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied	Dissatisfied	Very dissatisfied	N/A - I am unfamiliar with this technical documentation
a. )Major Sector section of the BLS Handbook of methods
b.) Industry section of the BLS Handbook of methods
c.) Multifactor productivity FAQs
d.) Labor Productivity FAQs
e.) Other multifactor productivity technical documentation
f.) Other labor productivity technical documentation

18. (If Q17=dissatisfied or very dissatisfied to any item) How could the <insert item> be improved? (open-ended)

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19. How satisfied are you with the following BLS productivity articles and data products available on the BLS website?

	Very satisfied	Satisfied	Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied	Dissatisfied	Very dissatisfied	N/A - I am unfamiliar with these products
a. ) Labor productivity articles
b.) Multifactor productivity articles
c.) “A Closer Look” reports on specific industries (e.g., Construction Industries)
d.) Contributions to Output Growth
e.) Productivity Dispersion

20. (If Q19=dissatisfied or very dissatisfied to any item) How could the <insert item> be improved? (open-ended)

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21. Which category below best describes the organization at which you work or study? (Select all that apply)

1. Individual/private citizen

2. Academia (If selected, Q22 will be displayed)

3. Business (If selected, Q23 will be displayed)

4. U.S. federal government

5. State government

6. Local government

7. Foreign government

8. Industry or trade association (If selected, Q24 will be displayed)

9. International organization

10. Library

11. Media/Press

12. Non-profit

13. Union

14. Other (please specify)

22. (Display if 21b is selected) You indicated you work or study in academia. Is this primary, secondary, or post-secondary?

• Primary

• Secondary

• Post-secondary

23. (Display if 21c is selected) You indicated you work or study in business. What type of industry? (open-ended)

24. (Display if 21h is selected) You indicated you work or study in an industry or trade association. What type of industry? (open-ended)

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25. What can we do to improve your experience with the BLS productivity program and its data? (open-ended)

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Thank you. We appreciate your time, input, and comments.

If you would like to get in touch with BLS Productivity staff to discuss any of the topics in this survey, please email productivity@bls.gov.

Clicking Done below will submit your survey responses.

Non-users

1. Do you use or access any productivity data from sources other than the BLS?

   1. Yes

   2. No (skip to Q9)

2. (If Q1=yes) For what reasons do you use or access productivity data from sources other than the BLS? Select all that apply.

   1. Data are not in the file format I need (if selected, Q3 will be displayed)

   2. Data are not available or detailed enough for the industry or sector (if selected, Q4 will be displayed)

   3. Data are not available or detailed enough for the geographic area I require (if selected, Q5 will be displayed)

   4. Data are difficult to locate/BLS productivity related web pages are difficult to navigate

   5. Data are not current enough for my needs (if selected, Q6 will be displayed)

   6. Data are not explained and/or presented clearly (if selected, Q7 will be displayed)

   7. Other, please specify

3. (If Q2 =a) You indicated that BLS productivity data are not available in the file format you require. Which file formats are you looking for? (optional) (open-ended)

4. (If Q2=b) You indicated that BLS productivity data are not available or detailed enough for the industry or sector you require. Which industry or sectors would you like to see? (optional) (open-ended)

5. (If Q2=c) You indicated that BLS productivity data are not detailed enough for the geographic area you require. Which geographic area(s) do you require? (optional) (open-ended)

6. (If Q2=e) You indicated that BLS productivity data are not current enough for your needs. Please explain how we could improve this. (optional) (open-ended)

7. (If Q2=f) You indicated that BLS productivity data are not explained and/or presented clearly. Please explain how we could improve this. (optional) (open-ended)

8. (If Q1=yes) Please describe the other sources of productivity data you use or access (open-ended)

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9. Which category below best describes the organization at which you work or study?

   1. Individual/private citizen

   2. Academia (if selected, Q10 will be displayed)

   3. Business (if selected, Q11 will be displayed)

   4. U.S. federal government

   5. State government

   6. Local government

   7. Foreign government

   8. Industry or trade association (if selected, Q12 will be displayed)

   9. International organization

   10. Library

   11. Media/Press

   12. Non-profit

   13. Union

   14. Other (please specify)

10. (if Q9=b) You indicated you work or study in academia. Is this primary, secondary, or post-secondary?

• Primary

• Secondary

• Post-secondary

11. (If Q9=c) You indicated you work or study in business. What type of industry? (open-ended)

12. (If Q9=h) You indicated you work or study in an industry or trade association. What type of industry? (open-ended)

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Thank you. We appreciate your time, input, and comments. Please feel free to enter any other comments you might have in the box below. Clicking Done below will submit your survey responses.

Comments (open-ended)

1 Note skip patterns are in blue text. These will not be shown to respondents.