Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

DOC has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.

Title: 2007 Economic Census Covering the Retail Trade and Accommodation and Food Services Sectors.

Form Number(s): Too numerous to list here.

Agency Approval Number: None.

Type of Request: New collection.

Burden: 1,165,100 hours.

Number of Respondents: 1,418,690.

Avg Hours Per Response: 48 minutes.

Needs and Uses: The 2007 Economic Census Covering the Retail Trade and Accommodation and Food Services Sectors will use a mail canvass, supplemented by data from Federal administrative records, to measure the economic activity of more than 1.7 million establishments classified in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The retail trade sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in selling merchandise, generally without transformation, and rendering services incidental to the sale of merchandise. The accommodation and food services sector comprises establishments providing customers with lodging and/or preparing meals, snacks, and beverages for immediate consumption. The information collected will produce basic statistics by kind of business on number of establishments, sales, payroll, and employment. It will also yield a variety of subject statistics, including sales by product line, sales by class of customer, and other industry-specific measures, such as number of prescriptions filled by drug stores and number of guestrooms provided by hotels. Basic statistics will be summarized for the United States, states, metropolitan areas, counties, places, and ZIP code areas. Tabulations of subject statistics also will present data for the United States and, in some cases, for states.

The economic census is the primary source of facts about the structure and functioning of the Nation's economy and features unique industry and geographic detail. Economic census statistics serve as part of the framework for the national accounts and provide essential information for government, business, and the general public. The Federal Government uses information from the economic census as an important part of the framework for the national income and product accounts, input-output tables, economic indexes, and other composite measures that serve as the factual basis for economic policy-making, planning, and program administration. Further, the census provides sampling frames and benchmarks for current surveys of business which track short-term economic trends, serve as economic indicators, and contribute critical source data for current estimates of gross domestic product. State and local governments rely on the economic census as a unique source of comprehensive economic statistics for small geographic areas for use in policy-making, planning, and program administration. Finally, industry, business, academe, and the general public use information from the economic census for evaluating markets, preparing business plans, making business decisions, developing economic models and forecasts, conducting economic research, and establishing benchmarks for their own sample surveys.

If the economic census was not conducted, the Federal Government would lose vital source data and benchmarks for the national accounts, input-output tables, and other composite measures of economic activity, causing a substantial degradation in the quality of these important statistics. Further, the government would lose critical benchmarks for current sample-based economic surveys and an essential source of detailed, comprehensive economic information for use in policy-making, planning, and program administration.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Individuals or households; Not-for-profit institutions; State, local or Tribal governments.

Frequency: One-time.

Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.

Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. Sections 131 and 224.

OMB Desk Officer: Susan Schechter, (202) 395-5103.

Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained by calling or writing Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer, (202) 482-0266, Department of Commerce, Room 6625, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at dhynek@doc.gov).

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to Susan Schechter, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202-395-7245) or e-mail (susan_schechter@omb.eop.gov).