Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 215 / Monday, November 8, 2004 / Notices 64789

by the union as their collective 

bargaining representative. These offices 

are approximately twenty-five miles 

apart. NECA handles the collection and 

disbursement of benefit funds for the 

Participants, and their office is in 

Arlington, TX which is approximately 

three miles away from the school. IBEW 

and NECA seek to purchase the Parcels 

from the Plan and build offices at this 

location which would be much more 

convenient for the Participants. 

If the exemption is denied, the parties 

in interest, IBEW and NECA, will not be 

able to build their buildings next to the 

Plan facility. This will cause the Plan 

participants to have to drive 

approximately twenty-five miles to the 

IBEW office and three miles to the 

NECA office in order to conduct 

business. NECA and IBEW have not 

indicated any desire to build a new 

building unless it is next to Plan. The 

transactions will be in the best interests 

of the Plan and will also make the 

school building more accessible to 

members of the IBEW and NECA for 

their training needs.

3. On July 26, 2002 an unimproved 

11.7 acre of real property (the Land) was 

conveyed to the Plan by an unrelated 

third party. Fifty percent of the Land 

was donated to the Plan and fifty 

percent was sold to the Plan for 

$575,000. The Parcels are sections of the 

Land that the applicant now seeks to 

sell. Parcel 1 consists of a vacant 

unimproved parcel of land containing 

an area of approximately 1.112 acres 

located at W. Tarrant Road, Grand 

Prairie, Dallas County, Texas. Parcel 2 

consists of a vacant unimproved parcel 

of land containing an area of 

approximately 5.383 acres located at W. 

Tarrant Road, Grand Prairie, Dallas 

County, Texas. The remaining Land is 

road accessible and is surplus property 

for the Plan. 

4. The Parcels were appraised on 

October 13, 2003, by Donald J. 

Sherwood (Mr. Sherwood), a MAI 

Certified General Real Estate Appraiser. 

Mr. Sherwood is independent of the 

parties to the transactions and is an 

appraiser with Integra Realty Resources 

located in Dallas, Texas. 

Mr. Sherwood determined the best 

use and highest value of the Parcels was 

associated with valuing the Parcels with 

the so-called direct sales comparison 

method. Under this method, sales of 

similar land in the market area are 

compared to the subject to arrive at an 

indication of value. In arriving at value 

conclusions, the tracts are compared as 

to the rights conveyed, financing terms, 

sale conditions, market conditions, 

location, and physical characteristics. 

Therefore, based on the valuation 

procedures employed by Mr. Sherwood, 

he determined that the fair market value 

of the Parcels was as follows: (i) Parcel 

1 = $145,000; and (ii) Parcel 2 = 

$655,000. 

5. The Plan will receive an amount 

equal to the greater of: (i) $145,000; or 

(ii) the current fair market value of 

Parcel 1 as established by an 

independent, qualified, appraiser 

updated at the time of the Sale. The 

Plan also will receive an amount equal 

to the greater of: (i) $655,000; or (ii) the 

current fair market value of Parcel 2 as 

established by an independent, 

qualified, appraiser updated at the time 

of the Sale. 

6. In summary, the applicant 

represents that the subject transaction 

satisfies the statutory criteria contained 

in section 408(a) of the Act and section 

4975(c)(2) of the Code for the following 

reasons: 

(a) The Sale is a one-time transaction 

for cash; 

(b) The Plan does not pay any 

commissions, costs or other expenses in 

connection with the Sale; 

(c) The Plan will receive an amount 

equal to the greater of: (i) $145,000; or 

(ii) the current fair market value of 

Parcel 1 as established by an 

independent, qualified, appraiser and 

updated at the time of the Sale; and the 

Plan will receive an amount equal to the 

greater of: (i) $655,000; or (ii) the 

current fair market value of Parcel 2 as 

established by an independent, 

qualified, appraiser and updated at the 

time of the Sale; and 

(d) The terms of the Sales will be no 

less favorable to the Plan than terms it 

would have received under similar 

circumstances in an arm’s length 

negotiation with an unrelated party. 

Notice to Interested Persons: Notice of 

the proposed exemption shall be given 

to all interested persons in the manner 

agreed upon by the applicant and 

Department within 15 days of the date 

of publication in the Federal Register. 

Comments and requests for a hearing are 

due forty-five (45) days after publication 

of the notice in the Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Khalif Ford of the Department, 

telephone (202) 693–8540 (this is not a 

toll-free number).

General Information 

The attention of interested persons is 

directed to the following: 

(1) The fact that a transaction is the 

subject of an exemption under section 

408(a) of the Act and/or section 

4975(c)(2) of the Code does not relieve 

a fiduciary or other party in interest or 

disqualified person from certain other 

provisions of the Act and/or the Code, 

including any prohibited transaction 

provisions to which the exemption does 

not apply and the general fiduciary 

responsibility provisions of section 404 

of the Act, which, among other things, 

require a fiduciary to discharge his 

duties respecting the plan solely in the 

interest of the participants and 

beneficiaries of the plan and in a 

prudent fashion in accordance with 

section 404(a)(1)(b) of the Act; nor does 

it affect the requirement of section 

401(a) of the Code that the plan must 

operate for the exclusive benefit of the 

employees of the employer maintaining 

the plan and their beneficiaries; 

(2) Before an exemption may be 

granted under section 408(a) of the Act 

and/or section 4975(c)(2) of the Code, 

the Department must find that the 

exemption is administratively feasible, 

in the interests of the plan and of its 

participants and beneficiaries, and 

protective of the rights of participants 

and beneficiaries of the plan; 

(3) The proposed exemptions, if 

granted, will be supplemental to, and 

not in derogation of, any other 

provisions of the Act and/or the Code, 

including statutory or administrative 

exemptions and transitional rules. 

Furthermore, the fact that a transaction 

is subject to an administrative or 

statutory exemption is not dispositive of 

whether the transaction is in fact a 

prohibited transaction; and 

(4) The proposed exemptions, if 

granted, will be subject to the express 

condition that the material facts and 

representations contained in each 

application are true and complete, and 

that each application accurately 

describes all material terms of the 

transaction which is the subject of the 

exemption.

Signed at Washington, DC, this 1st day of 

November, 2004. 

Ivan Strasfeld, 

Director of Exemption Determinations, 

Employee Benefits Security Administration, 

U.S. Department of Labor.

[FR Doc. 04–24648 Filed 11–5–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–29–P

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Proposal to Revise Method for 

Estimation of Monthly Labor Force 

Statistics for Certain Subnational 

Areas; Request for Comments

AGENCY: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 

Labor.

ACTION: Request for comments on 

proposed action. 

64790 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 215 / Monday, November 8, 2004 / Notices 

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, 

through the Bureau of Labor Statistics 

and, specifically, the Local Area 

Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) 

program, is responsible for the 

development and publication of State 

and local area labor force statistics. In 

the LAUS program, monthly estimates 

of the labor force, employment, 

unemployment, and the unemployment 

rate for more than 7,000 areas in the 

Nation are developed and issued. A 

major program redesign to improve the 

methodological basis of the LAUS 

estimates and update the geography and 

techniques to reflect 2000 Census data 

was initially funded in FY 2001. After 

completion of various long-term 

research projects, the BLS plans to 

implement improvements to the 

estimating methods with State and area 

LAUS estimates for January 2005, to be 

published in March 2005.

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted to the office listed in the 

Addresses section of this notice on or 

before December 10, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Sharon 

P. Brown, Chief, Division of Local Area 

Unemployment Statistics, Bureau of 

Labor Statistics, Room 4675, 2 

Massachusetts Avenue NE., Washington 

DC 20212.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sharon P. Brown, Chief, Division of 

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, 

Bureau of Labor Statistics, telephone 

number 202–691–6390.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction 

The Department of Labor, through the 

Bureau of Labor Statistics, is responsible 

for the development and publication of 

State and local area labor force statistics 

through the Local Area Unemployment 

Statistics (LAUS) program. Currently, 

monthly estimates of employment, 

unemployment, and the unemployment 

rate are prepared for more than 7,000 

areas, including Census regions, Census 

divisions, all States and the District of 

Columbia, Puerto Rico, metropolitan 

and small labor market areas, counties, 

cities of 25,000 population or more, and 

all cities and towns in New England 

regardless of population. In a multiyear, multi-project initiative that began 

in FY 2001, the following improvements 

to State and area labor force estimation 

were identified: 

• State time series estimating models 

with real-time benchmarking to the 

national monthly employment and 

unemployment levels that will address 

long-standing issues related to accuracy 

and end-of-year revision, 

• the extension of model-based 

estimation to six additional substate 

areas and the respective balance-of-State 

areas, and 

• two enhanced procedures for 

developing other substate areas that 

employ innovative and dynamic 

estimating methods. 

II. Background 

A hierarchy of estimation methods is 

used to produce the State and area labor 

force estimates, based in large part on 

the availability and quality of data from 

the Current Population Survey (CPS), 

the office measure of the labor force for 

the nation. 

Improved Time Series Models with 

Real-time Benchmarking. The estimates 

for States, the District of Columbia, New 

York City, Los Angeles metropolitan 

area, and the balances of New York 

State and California are developed using 

signal-plus-noise models. These models 

rely heavily on monthly CPS data, as 

well as current wage and salary 

employment estimates and 

unemployment insurance statistics. The 

State CPS annual averages of 

employment and unemployment are 

used as benchmarks to the model-based 

estimates at the end of the year. In 

general, the current method of model 

estimation and annual benchmarking 

results in an overestimate of 

employment and an underestimate of 

unemployment and the unemployment 

rate in States as compared to the 

national CPS estimates. The annual 

benchmarking approach reintroduces 

sampling error into the series and 

results in significant end-of-year 

revisions in a large number of States, 

causes economic anomalies that are an 

artifact of the benchmarking approach, 

distorts seasonality in the previous year 

so that analysis is impaired, and often 

misses shocks to the economy.

To address these serious issues, the 

improved model-based approach to 

estimation will ensure that State 

estimates add to the national estimates 

of employment and unemployment each 

month, through real-time benchmarking. 

In doing so, the benchmark will change 

from annual State-level estimates of 

employment and unemployment to 

monthly national estimates of these 

measures. In this way, economic shocks 

will be reflected in the State estimates 

on a real-time basis, and end-of-year 

revisions will be significantly smaller. 

The improved State models are signalplus-noise models, where the signal is a 

bivariate model of the unemployment or 

the employment level. The same inputs 

used in the current models are used in 

the new models. Seasonal adjustment 

occurs within the new model structure, 

with the removal of the seasonal 

component. The proposed models with 

real-time benchmarking produce 

reliability measures for the seasonally 

adjusted and not seasonally adjusted 

series, and on over-the-month and overthe-year change. 

Under real-time benchmarking, a 

tiered approach to estimation is used. 

Model-based estimates (using a 

univariate form) are developed for the 

nine Census divisions that 

geographically exhaust the nation. 

(Census division groupings are currently 

used to analyze and publish LAUS 

estimates.) These estimates are 

controlled to the national levels of 

employment and unemployment. State 

model-based estimates are then made 

and controlled to the Census Division 

estimates. In this manner, the monthly 

State employment and unemployment 

estimates will add to the national levels, 

precluding differences between the sum 

of States and the national estimates, and 

national shocks related to the business 

cycle or outliers like September 11 will 

be addressed. 

Annual historical benchmarking will 

still continue for State estimates but 

would be greatly altered. The updating 

of model inputs, model reestimation, 

and incorporation of updated 

population controls would be performed 

each year. However, the impact on the 

historical series of these benchmark 

activities is considered to be fairly 

small. 

Extending Model-based Estimation to 

Additional Areas. Currently, monthly 

labor force estimates for New York City, 

the balance of New York State, the Los 

Angeles metropolitan area, and the 

balance of California are developed 

using model-based methods. (These 

models will be updated to the form used 

for States and described above.) As part 

of the LAUS improvement efforts, 

model-based estimation will be 

extended to the following areas and the 

respective balance-of-State areas: 

Chicago metropolitan division, 

Cleveland metropolitan area, Detroit 

metropolitan division, Miami 

metropolitan division, New Orleans 

metropolitan area, and Seattle-Everett 

metropolitan division. This will 

improve the statistical basis of the 

estimation for these areas, and provide 

important tools for analysis such as 

measures of error and seasonally 

adjusted series.

These area models will follow the 

form of the Census divisions 

(univariate), and will be benchmarked 

to the State employment and 

unemployment estimates on a real-time 

basis. As with the State models, 

seasonally adjusted series will be

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 215 / Monday, November 8, 2004 / Notices 64791

produced, along with measures of error 

for the seasonally adjusted and not 

seasonally adjusted series, and on overthe-month and over-the-year change. 

New and Reentrant Unemployment.

There has been a long-standing concern 

in the LAUS program regarding the 

estimation of unemployment at the 

substate level (for areas other than New 

York City, Los Angeles, and the 

balances of New York State and 

California). Of specific concern is the 

measurement of unemployed new and 

reentrants to the labor market. The 

difficulty in estimating new and 

reentrants led to the use of a 

proportionate adjustment of area 

estimates to the State total unemployed 

as a way of controlling for the 

underestimate at the area level. The 

current research has led to a proposal 

for an improved methodology. 

The new methodology incorporates 

the CPS new and reentrants State data 

and utilizes improved econometric 

modeling techniques. The new model 

follows the basic form of the model 

created in 1983 and used today, but has 

been updated and improved. The 

proposed model uses a stochastic 

nonlinear estimation process rather than 

the global linear procedure used 

currently. A stochastic, or random, 

coefficient is one whose value is 

allowed to change over time. In this 

model, the values of the model 

coefficients change from month to 

month as the models are updated with 

information from current observations. 

The model estimates are distributed to 

each labor market area in the State 

based on the area’s share of the State 

population. New entrants are 

distributed based on the area’s share of 

the State 16–19 year old population, and 

reentrants are distributed based on the 

area’s share of the State 20 years and 

older population. 

The new method of estimation 

successfully addresses the issue of 

underestimation and eliminates the 

need for significant proportionate 

adjustment of area estimates to the 

monthly State levels of unemployment. 

Residency Adjustment. The 

underlying concepts and definitions of 

all labor force data developed by the 

LAUS program are consistent with those 

of the Current Population Survey (CPS), 

including the requirement that measures 

relate to the place of residence of the 

labor force participant. Establishmentbased data on the number of 

nonagricultural wage and salary jobs by 

place of work from the Current 

Employment Statistics (CES) or the 

Quarterly Census of Employment and 

Wages (QCEW) programs is the only 

current, geographically comprehensive 

source of information on employment at 

the substate level, and are a significant 

input to LAUS estimation. The 

establishment series differs from the 

CPS in that the CPS counts employed 

persons where they reside rather than 

jobs by place of work. Thus, the 

establishment-based data must be 

adjusted to account for multiple-job 

holding and residency prior to use in 

LAUS estimation. 

The current procedure utilizes a 

single adjustment ratio for each 

estimating area, using Decennial census 

data and March-April average 

establishment-based data. The Census 

estimate of all employed residents in an 

area is divided by the job count. This 

ratio is then applied each month to the 

nonfarm wage and salary estimate for 

the area to produce the resident 

nonfarm wage and salary employed 

estimate for the area. 

A basic problem with the current 

Census-based procedure of adjusting for 

residency was the limited geographic 

scope for influencing the area’s estimate 

of resident employed and static nature 

of the approach. Recognizing that labor 

market areas often are not defined to the 

point where commutation is zero, and 

that, in the intercensal period, job 

growth can and does occur in the areas 

surrounding the estimating area, a new 

approach to developing resident 

employment was considered. 

The proposed method postulates that 

resident employment in an area is a 

function not only of the relationship 

between employed residents and jobs in 

that area, but in other areas within 

commuting distance. The procedure is 

more dynamic than the current method 

insofar as job count changes in 

commuting areas can affect resident 

employment. As in the current 

procedure, however, the commuting 

ratios themselves are fixed for the 

intercensal period. 

Detailed descriptions of the current 

and Redesign approaches are available 

at the above address and at the BLS 

LAUS Web site http://www.bls.gov/lau/

home.htm.

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be summarized and 

included in the Notice of Decision on 

this proposal. 

This notice is a general solicitation of 

comments from the public.

Signed in Washington, DC., this 29th day 

of October, 2004. 

John M. Galvin, 

Associate Commissioner, Office of 

Employment and Unemployment Statistics, 

Bureau of Labor Statistics.

[FR Doc. 04–24733 Filed 11–5–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–24–P

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration 

Maritime Advisory Committee for 

Occupational Safety and Health; Notice 

of Meeting

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Maritime Advisory Committee 

for Occupational Safety and Health 

(MACOSH); Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Maritime Advisory 

Committee for Occupational Safety and 

Health (MACOSH) was established to 

advise the Assistant Secretary of Labor 

for OSHA on issues relating to 

occupational safety and health in the 

maritime industries. The purpose of this 

Federal Register notice is to announce 

the December 2004 meeting of the 

committee.

DATES: The committee will meet on 

December 8 through December 9, 2004. 

On December 7, the MACOSH work 

groups will meet from 9 a.m. until 4:30 

p.m.; on December 8, the full committee 

will meet from 8 a.m. until 

approximately 4:30 p.m.; on December 

9, the full committee will meet from 8 

a.m. until approximately 5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The committee will meet at 

the Norfolk Waterside Marriott, 232 East 

Main Street, Norfolk, Virginia 23510; 

phone; (757) 628–6473; fax: (202) 628–

6452. 

Mail comments, views, or statements 

in response to this notice to Jim 

Maddux, Director, Office of Maritime, 

OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room 

N–3609, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC 20210; phone (202) 

693–2086; FAX: (202) 693–1663.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

general information about MACOSH 

and this meeting: Jim Maddux, Director, 

Office of Maritime, U.S. Department of 

Labor, Room N–3609, 200 Constitution 

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; 

phone: (202) 693–2086. For information 

about the submission of comments, and 

requests to speak: Vanessa L. Welch, 

Office of Maritime, OSHA, U.S. 

Department of Labor, Room N–3609, 

200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20210; Phone: (202) 

693–2086. Individuals with disabilities 

wishing to attend the meeting should 

contact Vanessa L. Welch at (202) 693–

2086 at later than November 17, 2004 to 

obtain appropriate accommodations.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: All 

MACOSH meetings, including work 

group meetings, are open to the public. 

All interested persons are invited to