June 11 -- The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) invites public comment on its intention to ask OMB to approve a clearance for the National Compensation Survey (NCS) for 2021-2023. BLS is not proposing any changes to the current NCS. Economists are welcome to provide comments on any aspect of NCS design and methodology. BLS has provided the draft supporting statement, with detailed information on sample design and estimation method, for AEA member review. Comments are due by August 10, 2020.
Background on NCS:
The NCS collects earnings and work level data on occupations for the nation. The NCS also collects information on the cost, provisions, and incidence of major employee benefits through its benefit cost and benefit provision programs and publications. BLS has for a number of years been using a revised approach to the Locality Pay Survey (LPS) component of the NCS; this uses data from two current BLS programs—the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey and the ECI program. This approach uses OES data to provide wage data by occupation and by area, while ECI data are used to specify grade level effects. This approach is also being used to extend the estimation of pay gaps to areas that were not included in the prior Locality Pay Survey sample, and these data have been delivered to the Pay Agent (in 2019, data for 95 areas were delivered).
The NCS has a national survey design for the ECI and the EBS. The NCS private industry sample is on a three-year rotational cycle, with one frozen sample year every ten years for the NCS private industry sample when a new NCS State and local government sample starts (approximately in 2025).
The NCS continues to provide employee benefit provision and participation data. These data include estimates of how many workers receive the various employer-sponsored benefits. The data also include information about the common provisions of benefit plans.
NCS collection will use a number of collection forms (normally having unique private industry and government initiation and update collection forms and versions).
NCS website:
https://www.bls.gov/ncs/
Federal Register notice inviting public comment:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/06/11/2020-12630/information-collection-activities-comment-request
Draft Supporting Statement Part A (purpose, uses, publication plans and data availability):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/t5smadsswmx53de/OMB%20Supporting%20Statement%20Part%20A%20-%20June%2011.docx?dl=0
Draft Supporting Statement Part B (sampling method, collection method):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uu0gltw1zq9fc9t/OMB%20Supporting%20Statement%20Part%20B%20-%20June%2011.docx?dl=0
Any attachment referenced in supporting statement can be obtained on request to Nora Kincaid Kincaid.Nora@bls.gov
Point of contact: Hilery Simpson, Associate Commissioner, Compensation Levels and Trends 202-691-5184 simpson.hilery@bls.gov
