[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 76 (Tuesday, April 21, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19705-19706]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-10489]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of the Census


1998 Company Organization Survey

ACTION: Proposed Collection; comment request.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before June 22, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Linda Engelmeier, 
Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 
5327, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should 
be

[[Page 19706]]

directed to Paul Hanczaryk, Bureau of the Census, Room 2761, Federal 
Building 3, Washington, DC 20233-6100; telephone (301) 457-2580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Census Bureau conducts the annual Company Organization Survey 
(COS) in order to update and maintain a central, multipurpose business 
register, known as the Standard Statistical Establishment List (SSEL). 
In particular, the COS supplies critical information to the SSEL 
concerning the establishment composition, organizational structure, and 
operating characteristics of multi establishment enterprises.
    The SSEL serves two fundamental purposes:
    <bullet> First and most important, it provides sampling populations 
and enumeration lists for the Census Bureau's economic surveys and 
censuses, and it serves as an integral part of the statistical 
foundation underlying those programs. Essential for this purpose is the 
SSEL's ability to identify all known United States business 
establishments and their parent enterprises. Further, the SSEL must 
accurately record basic business attributes needed to control sampling 
and enumeration. These attributes include industrial and geographic 
classifications, measures of size and economic activity, ownership 
characteristics, and contact information (for example, name and 
address).
    Second, it provides establishment data that serve as the basis for 
the annual County Business Patterns (CBP) statistical series. CBP 
reports present data on number of establishments, first quarter 
payroll, annual payroll, and mid-March employment summarized by 
industry and employment size class for the United States, states, the 
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, counties, and county-equivalents. No 
other annual or more frequent series of industry statistics provides 
comparable detail, particularly for small geographic areas.

II. Method of Collection

    The Census Bureau will conduct the 1998 COS similar to the 1996 
COS. In 1997 the COS was conducted in conjunction with the 1997 
Economic Census to minimize response burden.
    The 1998 COS will direct inquiries to approximately 85,000 multi 
establishment enterprises, which operate 1.1 million establishments. 
This panel will be drawn from the SSEL universe of nearly 200,000 multi 
establishment enterprises, which operate 1.5 million establishments. 
Additionally, the panel will include approximately 1,000 new entities 
that have become active during 1998. The procedure for constructing the 
COS panel selectively targets enterprises that are most likely to 
report changes in organization and/or operating characteristics, and it 
also targets new entities that are most likely to report affiliation 
with multi establishment enterprises. In general, the selection of 
these units is based on enterprise size/complexity and administrative 
records indications. Additionally, the panel will include a small 
probability sample of the multi establishment enterprises not selected 
by the targeting procedure.
    The survey is conducted by mail canvass. More than 300 larger 
enterprises (accounting for approximately 22 percent of covered 
establishments) return their COS reports by automated/electronic means. 
All other survey respondents return a paper questionnaire. Data content 
is identical for all reporting modes. The instrument includes inquiries 
on ownership or control by a domestic parent, ownership or control by a 
foreign parent, and ownership of foreign affiliates. Further, the 
instrument lists an inventory of establishments belonging to the 
enterprise and its subsidiaries, and it requests updates to the 
inventory, including additions, deletions, and changes to information 
on Federal employer identification number, name and address, industrial 
payroll, end-of-year operating status, mid-March employment, first 
quarter payroll, and annual payroll.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0607-0444.
    Form Number: NC-9901.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit, not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 85,000 enterprises.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1.7 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 144,500.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $2,023,000 @ $14/hr.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 of U.S.C. Sections 131 and 182.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: April 16, 1998.
Linda Engelmeier,
Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office of Management and 
Organization.
[FR Doc. 98-10489 Filed 4-20-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P