Supporting Statement (1220-0050) CE Part A_Final_9132024

Consumer Expenditure Surveys

OMB Control Number: 1220-0050

OMB Expiration Date: March 31, 2027

SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR

THE CONSUMER EXPENDITURE SURVEYS

OMB CONTROL NO. 1220-0050

This Information Collection Request (ICR) seeks to obtain clearance for a revision of the Consumer Expenditure (CE) Surveys. This request is seeking continuation of the CE Surveys and the approval to make modifications to both the Interview and Diary surveys to accommodate the sample redesign and make minor wording clarifications. These changes are described below and if approved, are planned to be implemented in January 2025 for Diary, and April 2025 for Interview.

A. Justification

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the collection of information.

The CE Surveys include the Quarterly Interview Survey (CEQ) and the Diary Survey (CED).

The Census Bureau conducts the CE Surveys for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in support of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) program. The continuing CE Surveys provide a constant measurement of changes in consumer expenditure patterns for economic analysis, and obtain data for future CPI revisions. The CE also collects point of purchase data in support of the CPI program.

 The BLS conducts the CE Surveys under the authority of Title 29, Section 2, Collection, Collation and Reports of Labor Statistics, of the United States Code. The Census Bureau collects information in the CE Surveys under the authority of Title 13, United States Code, Section 8b, Uthenticated transcripts or copies of certain returns; other data; restriction on use; disposition, that allows the Census Bureau to undertake surveys for other agencies.

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.

The Census Bureau conducts the CE Surveys for the BLS in support of the CPI program. The continuing CE Surveys provide a constant measurement of changes in consumer expenditure patterns for economic analysis, and obtain data for future CPI revisions.

The BLS will use data collected in the CE Surveys to 1) provide data required for updating cost-weights used to calculate the CPI; 2) provide a continuous flow of data on income and expenditure patterns for use in economic analysis and policy formulation; and 3) provide a flexible consumer survey vehicle that is available for use by other Federal Government agencies. Public and private users of price statistics, including Congress and the economic policymaking agencies of the executive branch, rely on data collected in the CPI in their day‑to‑day activities. Data users and policymakers widely accept the need to regularly update the weights used in the CPI.

Data for the CE are collected by the Census Bureau field offices. For both the CEQ and CED, a new sample will be drawn based on the 2020 Census from “primary sampling units”. PSUs are small geographic clusters of the 3,144 counties or county equivalents in the United States into 1,492 small geographic clusters. (See Supporting Statement Part B for additional information.)

The CEQ uses the CE Quarterly Interview Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) instrument to collect data. The CEQ CAPI instrument is the major collection tool used for the CEQ and collects the characteristics of the household, consumer unit (CU), and information on the CU’s expenditures including point of purchase through a series of four personal interviews.

For a full list of questions in the CEQ CAPI instrument, see Attachment A.

The CED uses both a CAPI instrument (see Attachment B for the 2025 Diary Instrument specifications), and the paper diary CE-801, Record of Your Daily Expenses (Attachment C). CE implemented the Online diary for data collection in July 2022 (see Attachment D(a) for Online Diary specifications). As part of Online Diary collection, users are provided an Online Diary User Guide (see Attachment D(b)) at placement as well as an electronic link through the Online diary. Additionally, respondents who complete the Online Diary and provide an email address are sent a ‘Welcome’ email approximately 24 hours after placement and a ‘Reminder’ email on the 8^th day after placement (see Attachment D(c). In the CED,

minor wording changes were made to both the online diary user guide, ‘Welcome’ email, and ‘Reminder’ email.

The CED Diary collects information on CU expenditures by asking each selected sample unit to keep two one-week diaries of all expenditures. The Diary is necessary to collect expenditures that respondents may not be able to recall in a retrospective interview.

The CED CAPI instrument collects information on the household including financial determinacy questions for the purposes of assigning households to a CU (see Supporting Statement Part B for additional information on CUs), demographics, average amount spent on select expenditures, and income questions through a personal interview during which two one-week paper diaries are placed.

For both CEQ and CED, wording is included in the CAPI instruments regarding receipt of the advance letter in order to ensure communication of the confidentiality and Paperwork Reduction Act statements to respondents who may not have received the advanced letter. (See Attachment H - Respondent Contact Procedures and Email Template for additional information.)

Before the interviewer’s visit, each CEQ and CED sample household receives an Advance Letter, the CE‑303 L1, 2, 3, or 4 (Attachment E(a-d) or CE-803(L) (Attachment E(e)). These letters explain the nature of the information the BLS wants to collect and the uses of the CEQ or the CED data, as appropriate; inform the respondents of the confidential treatment of all identifying information they provide; request the respondents’ participation in the survey; describe the survey’s compliance with the relevant provisions of the Privacy Act and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) disclosure requirements; and provide a link to the address of the respondent’s informational webpage. Each of the advance letters and several of the brochures in the portfolio are available in the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese, and Polish. The CEQ Advance Letter will be updated to clarify the length of time to complete the re-interview for the portion of respondents who are selected. In order to encourage cooperation, letters are also sent to respondents who were reluctant, or refused to participate, or were unable to be contacted, or whose contact attempt did not result in a complete interview (Attachment F (a-i)). Respondents can also be offered a postcard with general information about CE and its uses (Attachment G).

A subsample of approximately 12 percent of households in the Quarterly Interview Survey and 10 percent in the Diary Survey will participate in an additional CAPI interview, referred to as reinterview, for the purpose of instituting quality control over the performance of the interviewing staff.. (See the2023 Interview CAPI Reinterview instrument (Attachment I(a) - Final CEQ RI Instrument Specs) and the Diary Reinterview Instrument (Attachment I(b) CED RI Instrument Specs)

Beginning in 2023, a combined Information Booklet (Attachment J) was used for both the CEQ and CED surveys in order to save on printing costs, reduce the number of materials to maintain, and reduce duplication for FRs. No updates were made to the combined Survey Information Booklet CE‑305/CE-805.

At the first interview for both the CEQ and the CED, the field representative (FR) gives the respondent a portfolio filled with information on CE, CPI and the Census Bureau (Attachment K(a-d). CE in the News (Attachment K(c)) was updated based on more recent news results. Additionally, the FR may leave a business card with a sticker attached informing the respondent that the FR tried to reach them and asking the respondent to call the FR (Attachment L). Also available to respondents is the respondent Web page, expenditure summaries showing expenditures by various characteristics (Attachment M(a-e)), and an endorsement from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (Attachment N). The respondent web page contains information about the CE surveys, frequently asked questions, and links to the most recent CE data. The respondent handouts contain spending summaries for various demographic characteristics and expenditures on pets. Respondents who participate in the Interview Survey are also provided with a “Home File” in which to save their bills and receipts for use at the next CEQ interview.

After each interview for the CEQ or after completion of the week 2 Diary, each participating household receives a Thank You letter, CE‑303(L)6 or CE-803(L)6 or a Thank You postcard (Attachment O (a-c)) as well as a certificate of appreciation, CE-900 (Attachment P).

As appropriate, Census Field representatives may also provide supplemental flyers on the Quarterly Interview or the Diary Survey (Attachments Q and R).

1. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also, describe any consideration of using information technology to reduce burden.

Since April 2003, the CEQ is collected using CAPI. The CAPI instrument is on the Field representatives laptops and response are entered by the Field representative during collection. CAPI has streamlined the interviewing process and improved accuracy by eliminating the need for interviewers to make difficult decisions about correct branching and skip patterns during the interview. Where appropriate, screening questions in the instrument are used to determine eligibility for the administration of more detailed questions to each respondent. CAPI implementation for the Diary Household Characteristics Survey occurred in January 2004. Edit checks alert the Field Representative to irreconcilable data during the interview so that the correct data can be obtained and verified by the respondent. Additionally, online Diaries were introduced as part of the Large Scale Feasibility test in April 2020, implemented in production as needed due to the coronavirus pandemic in April 2021, and fully implemented in July 2022.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Item A.2 above.

To our knowledge, no other Federal agency is collecting this information.

Similar information with or without modifications does not exist. The CPI requires consumer expenditure data in order to produce item cost‑weights estimates for the U.S. urban population, and for several major metropolitan areas. Additionally, to estimate cost weights for the population covered by the “CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers,” the BLS needs occupation and income from respondents to determine if we should use their expenditures in this index.

The only data source that approaches the CPI needs is the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. However, these data do not allow the BLS to tabulate by the demographic characteristics and geographic areas necessary for producing estimates of cost weights for indexes published by the BLS as well as for many other analytical uses of the data. The PCE estimates, in addition to being too aggregated and lacking the statistical qualities of the CE, also cover the institutional population that is out‑of‑scope for the CPI.

5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden.

The collection of information on the CE questionnaires involves individuals or households, not small businesses.

6. Describe the consequence to federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

Before 1979, the BLS collected consumer income and expenditure data every 10 to 15 years as a major component of large‑scale periodic projects to update and revise the CPI. By conducting the consumer expenditure surveys continuously, the BLS is able to provide more frequent, up to date data, thereby increasing the overall quality and efficiency of the CPI revisions. If the BLS does not conduct the CE Surveys on a continuing basis, current information necessary for timely and accurate updating of the CPI would not be available. In addition, the BLS would not be able to respond to the continuing demand‑from the public and private sectors‑for current information on consumer spending and income.

Data from the CE are the basis for determining the market basket of the CPI. The CPI market basket is updated approximately every two years, and the updated market basket is two years old at the time of introduction.

In addition, the current sample sizes for the CE and rapid data processing allow the BLS to produce superlative measures of consumer price trends of an acceptable degree of reliability and on a basis much closer to real time than would be possible in the absence of a large sample. Such indexes are widely regarded as closer approximations to a cost-of-living index than the current CPI.

7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted in a manner:

• requiring respondents to report information to the agency more often than quarterly;

• requiring respondents to prepare a written response to a collection of information in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it;

• requiring respondents to submit more than an original and two copies of any document;

• requiring respondents to retain records, other than health, medical, government contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records for more than three years;

• in connection with a statistical survey, that is not designed to produce valid and reliable results that can be generalized to the universe of study;

• requiring the use of statistical data classification that has not been reviewed and approved by OMB;

• that includes a pledge of confidentially that is not supported by authority established in statute or regulation, that is not supported by disclosure and data security policies that are consistent with the pledge, or which unnecessarily impedes sharing of data with other agencies for compatible confidential use; or

• requiring respondents to submit proprietary trade secret, or other confidential information unless the agency can demonstrate that it has instituted procedures to protect the information's confidentially to the extent permitted by law.

The CED requests that each selected sample unit keep two one-week diaries of expenditures over two consecutive weeks. The CED collects information on small, relatively inexpensive items that respondents may not be able to recall in a retrospective survey. Given the type of data collected, the BLS requests Diary Survey respondents to record responses in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it.

Additionally, per the OMB Statistical Policy Directive (SPD) No. 15, CE is researching the implementation of the new race and ethnicity questions. CE is developing a plan to implement these changes into data collection, processing, and publication. CE will communicate our plan throughout the process to all stakeholders.  CE plans to add the new questions to the production data collection instruments in the CED by January of 2027 and in CEQ by April of 2027, ahead of the required implementation date of March 28, 2029 for the publication of estimates that reflect the new race/ethnicity questions. CE plans to coordinate an implementation date with the Current Population Survey (CPS), due to the use of CPS data in CE processing, and an interest in aligning implementation schedules for the two surveys. CE's plans will be documented in DOL's SPD 15 Action Plan as well as in any interim CE Information Collection Requests. 

8. If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publication in the Federal Register of the agency's notice, required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public comments received in response to that notice and describe actions taken by the agency in response to these comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden.

Describe efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.

Consultation with representatives of those from whom information is to be obtained or those who must compile records should occur at least once every 3 years -- even if the collection-of-information activity is the same as in prior periods. There may be circumstances that may preclude consultation in a specific situation. These circumstances should be explained.

One comment was received on the Federal Register Notice published on June 4, 2024 (89 FR 47990). This commenter was concerned with the cost associated with the rotating panel consisting of four interviews and methodology being influenced by politics.

The Consumer Expenditure Interview Survey is designed as a rotating panel consisting of 4 interviews of a given household at 3 month intervals.  There are several advantages to the panel nature of the survey including the ability to measure year to year changes in income, assets, and liabilities; the measurement of changes to expenditure behavior over time; measurement of infrequently purchased items; as an aid in recall; and to eliminate reported expenditures that are out of scope.  Measurements of changes in income, assets, and liabilities require recollection of these items at a 12 month interval.  Though the interview is repeated every three months, respondent burden is minimized as income, assets, and liabilities are only collected at the first and final interviews.  Likewise, measurements of changes to expenditure behavior over time requires repeated measurement of the same household in order to correlate changes in a given household’s spending over time.  Additionally, purchases of durable goods may be missed by surveying only at a particular moment in time as compared to a panel survey.  Furthermore, misreports of expenditure data can be corrected in subsequent interviews.  Errors in recollection as to the exact timing of expenditures can lead to reporting of expenditures outside of the reference period.  By using a panel survey, these out of scope expenditures can be eliminated.  Other benefits include the familiarity that respondents gain with collection and instructions provided on collecting records, enabling respondents to prepare for subsequent interview. 

Consumer Expenditure data is collected and prepared according to established methodologies that are documented and available to the public. Any changes to methodologies are evaluated by experts and cleared prior to implementation in order to prevent political or other sources of bias.

In the past year, the BLS has consulted with the following persons by correspondence and telephone conversations:

Jennifer Epps

Associate Director for Demographic Programs – Survey Operations

Census Bureau

John Gloster

Associate Director for Demographic Programs – Survey Operations

Census Bureau

Michael Bagley

Associate Director for Demographic Programs – Survey Operations

Census Bureau

James Farber

Demographic Statistical Methods Division

Census Bureau

 

Lindsay Nix

Demographic Statistical Methods Division

Census Bureau

Consultations with these persons continue as specific problems arise.

9. Explain any decision to provide any payments or gifts to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.

No payments or gifts will be provided to respondents.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.

The Census Bureau collects data on behalf of CE. The Census Bureau interviewers, Census Bureau employees, and BLS employees with access to CE data hold all information that respondents provide in strict confidence in accordance with Title 13, United States Code, Section 9. Census Bureau interviewers, Census Bureau employees, and BLS employees with access to CE data have each taken an oath to this effect, and if convicted of disclosing any information given by the respondent may be fined up to $250,000 and/or imprisoned up to 5 years.

In addition, Title 13 prohibits Census Bureau interviewers, Census Bureau employees, and BLS employees with access to CE data from disclosing information identifying any individual(s) in the CE Surveys to anyone other than sworn Census or BLS employees. Before the interviewer’s visit, CEQ or CED respondents will receive the CE-303(L) or CE-803(L) Advance Letters respectively, signed by the Director of the Census Bureau and informing them of the confidentiality of the survey data.

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. This justification should include the reasons why the agency considers the questions necessary, the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.

The CE Surveys do not include any questions of a sensitive nature.

12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information. The statement should:

• Indicate the number of respondents, frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden was estimated. Unless directed to do so, agencies should not conduct special surveys to obtain information on which to base hour burden estimates. Consultation with a sample (fewer than 10) of potential respondents is desirable. If the hour burden on respondents is expected to vary widely because of differences in activity, size, or complexity, show the range of estimated hour burden, and explain the reasons for the variance. General, estimates should not include burden hours for customary and usual business practices.

• If this request for approval covers more than one form, provide separate hour burden estimates for each form

• Provide estimates of annualized cost to respondents for the hour burdens for collections of information, identifying and using appropriate wage rate categories. The cost of contracting out or paying outside parties for information collection activities should not be included here. Instead, this cost should be included in Item 14.

CE estimates the average length of the CEQ interview to remain the same at 63 minutes as the removal of a section of outlets and addition of additional geographic areas encountering outlet questions is expected to be offsetting.

BLS will conduct the CEQ at an average of approximately 51,700 designated addresses, which will result in an estimated 4,392 respondents and 17,568 completed interviews.  This is a decrease of 457 complete interviews as a result of continued decreases in response rates and decreases in the number of addresses in sample. Reinterviews will be conducted on approximately 12 percent of the completed interviews, for a total of 2,108 completed reinterviews yearly.  The average time to complete the survey is 63 minutes for the regular interview, and 10 minutes for the reinterview.  This results in an annual response burden (in terms of interview length) of 18,446 hours yearly.

Response Burden for the Interview Survey
	Total Respondents	Frequency	Total Responses	Average	Estimated
Form				Time per Response	Total
					Burden
Interview	4,392	4	17,568	63	18,446
Reinterview1	2,108	1	21,08	10	351
TOTALS	4,392	/////////	1,9676	////////	18,797
1Reinterviews are done on a subset of the original respondents

The BLS will conduct the CED at approximately 17,467 designated addresses per year, resulting in an estimated 5,933 respondents.   Respondents complete 2 weekly diaries, resulting in 12,100 weekly diaries being completed per year.  Reinterviews will be conducted on approximately 10 percent of the weekly diaries for a total of 1,187 reinterviews.  CE expects recordkeeping activity to remain unchanged at 60 minutes. Respondents spend approximately 60 minutes completing each weekly diary, for a total of 11,866 hours of record-keeping.  In addition to record-keeping, it takes an average of 19 minutes for respondents to complete each of the interviews. This results in a total of 3,758 hours of interviewing. Additionally, an estimated 10% of respondents (for each week) will be contacted for a reinterview resulting in an additional 198 hours of reinterview.  Total burden hour for the Diary Survey is 15,822 hours per year.

Response Burden for the Diary Survey
	Total Respondents	Frequency	Total Responses	Average	Estimated
Form				Time per Response	Total
					Burden
Record-keeping	5,933	2	11,866	60	11,866
Interview	5,933	2	11,866	19	3,758
Reinterview	1,187	1	1,187	10	198
TOTALS	5,933	/////////	24,919	////////	15,822
(1) The total number of respondents for the Diary Survey is 5,933.  The respondents who do the record-keeping are the same people who participate in the Diary interviews.
(2) Reinterviews are done on a subset of the original respondents.

Activity	No. of Respondents	No. of Responses	Total Responses	Average Burden (minutes)	Total Burden (hours)	Hourly	Total Burden Cost
		per Respondent				Wage Rate*
Quarterly	4,392	4.48	19,676	57.319	18,797	$7.25	$136,278
Diary	5,933	4.2	24,919	36.797	15,822	$7.25	$110,795
Totals	10,325		44,595		34,619		$247,073

*Based on the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection of information. (Do not include the cost of any hour burden shown in Items 12 and 14).

• The cost estimate should be split into two components: (a) a total capital and start up cost component (annualized over its expected useful life); and (b) a total operation and maintenance and purchase of service component. The estimates should take into account costs associated with generating, maintaining, and disclosing or providing the information. Include descriptions of methods used to estimate major cost factors including system and technology acquisition, expected useful life of capital equipment, the discount rate(s), and the time period over which costs will be incurred. Capital and start-up costs include, among other items, preparations for collecting information such as purchasing computers and software; monitoring, sampling, drilling and testing equipment; and record storage facilities.

• If cost estimates are expected to vary widely, agencies should present ranges of cost burdens and explain the reasons for the variance. The cost of purchasing or contracting out information collection services should be a part of this cost burden estimate. In developing cost burden estimates, agencies may consult with a sample of respondents (fewer than 10), utilize the 60-day pre-OMB submission public comment process and use existing economic or regulatory impact analysis associated with the rulemaking containing the information collection, as appropriate.

• Generally, estimates should not include purchases of equipment or services, or portions thereof, made: (1) prior to October 1, 1995, (2) to achieve regulatory compliance with requirements not associated with the information collection, (3) for reasons other than to provide information or keep records for the government, or (4) as part of customary and usual business or private practices.

There are no capital and start-up costs and no operational, maintenance, or service costs required of respondents.

14. Provide estimates of the annualized cost to the Federal Government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operational expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information. Agencies also may aggregate cost estimates from Items 12, 13, and 14 into a single table.

The annual cost to the Federal Government of collecting, processing, reviewing, and publishing the data collected in the CE Surveys is approximately $50 million in fiscal year 2024. This included approximately $34 million in costs incurred by the Census Bureau for collecting and processing the data, operational costs associated with maintaining the survey, and development costs. The BLS portion of approximately $16 million was for costs incurred by the BLS in personnel and other related costs associated with managing the survey, processing the data upon receipt from the Census Bureau, reviewing, and publishing the data, and for research and development.

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments in Respondent Burden

Reporting burden has decreased from 36,222 to 34,619 due to decreasing response rates and decreases in the sample size. (See Supporting Statement Part B for additional information on response rates.)

The following changes are being requested and will not impact burden.

In the CEQ, CE requests clearance to incorporate outlet collection changes for the Interview survey based on CPI requirements related to the 2025 geographical revision. CE will use three temporary population groups (POPGRPs) to collect outlet data for sourcing outlets for new PSUs to accommodate needed outlet data for the CPI sample redesign.

Additionally, recall apparel questions which do not pertain to current interview items will be deleted. Additionally, the business screener question follow-up text will be deleted as Field Representatives (FRs) indicated it caused confusion.

In the CED, CE requests clearance to delete the following from the cover of the current Diary collection form: “If you have comments regarding this survey, please email CEcomments@bls.gov”. This text will remain in the advance letters. Additionally, at the bottom of the same page, the following text will remain “If you have any questions, please call:”, followed by the FR and FR supervisor contact info, written in. This will eliminate the confusion for the respondent by having two points of contact listed on the form, the field representative and BLS.

16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulations, and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.

Data collection activities for the continuing surveys began in September 1979 for the Diary Survey and in October 1979 for the Quarterly Interview Survey.  The Census Bureau delivered the first edited and weighted data to the BLS in April 1981.  Delivery is now scheduled with Quarterly Interview Survey data to be delivered three weeks after the interview month and Diary Survey data to be delivered two months after the interview month.

In May 1983, the BLS published the first tables from the continuing CE Surveys and selected data from the 1980‑81 Diary Surveys.  Also, microdata on public use tapes were made available for the first time in June 1983 for the Diary Survey and in October 1984 for the Interview Survey.

The BLS will release Diary and Quarterly Interview Survey public use microdata for the first half of 2023 in May 2024.  The 2023 annual tabular data and the second half of public use microdata are scheduled to be released in September 2024.

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.

The BLS requests not to display the expiration date of the information collection because the Quarterly Interview and the Diary Household Characteristics instruments are automated; the respondent, therefore, never sees the date. The OMB control number for the CE Surveys is included in the advance letter given to respondents (see Attachment E). For the Diary CE-801 there is a significant costs savings in printing a large quantity of forms at one time due to the set up costs involved in printing for the survey instrument. By not printing the date on the form the BLS will be able to continue to use forms in stock, assuming no form changes, once the OMB clearance date has expired and a new expiration date has been approved. The BLS would save both time and money by not having to destroy the old questionnaires and printing new ones.

18. Explain each exception to the certification statement.

There are no exceptions to the certification statement.

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