May 9 -- The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) invites comments by July 8, 2024 regarding the data collection of the Characteristics of the Insured Unemployed.
The Characteristics of the Unemployment Insurance Claimants provide information on the demographic composition of unemployment insurance claimants. The data are based on a sample or on the universe of those who file a continued claim in the week containing the 19th of the month, which reflects unemployment during the week containing the 12th. This corresponds with the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey.
The reports found on the Characteristics of the Unemployment Insurance Claimants web page provide demographic and labor market data on individuals filing continued claims. ETA's Office of Unemployment Insurance develops the report on a monthly basis from the data reported by each state to the Federal Government using the ETA 203 – Distribution of Characteristics of the Insured Unemployed report. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports similar monthly data. In order to assure the comparability of the data, ETA coincides its report with the BLS employment report. The ETA 203 reports information on continued claims filed during the week containing the 19th of the month. This week reflects unemployment experienced during the prior week containing the 12th of the month.
The ETA 203 report provides data on the variation in unemployment insurance claimants by sex, ethnicity, race, age, industry, and occupation. These data may be used in various applications. When compiled and compared by month, year or other time span, policy makers may use the data to illustrate how claimant characteristics change over time, and over the economic cycle. For example, trends in the data may show older workers are a growing portion of the claimant population – this may have implications for reemployment service strategies. Trends in the industry categories may indicate employment stability in each category – this information may be a determinant in developing training strategies.
These data might also serve as a harbinger of changes to the economic cycle, especially within states. Aggregate initial claims data is well established as a leading economic indicator and analysts often focus on it to help project the economic cycle. However, Characteristics of Unemployment Insurance Claimants data also have the potential to provide insights to changes in the economic cycle, especially within states. Some states lead and some states lag the national economic cycle and that is true for industries as well. The way these data can be used to anticipate changes in the economic cycle is to analyze year-over-year changes, especially for the industry data. As the economy moves from expansion to contraction the changes in continued claims data go from negative to positive over time and vice versa as the economy recovers from a contraction and moves into an expansion.
ETA is proposing changes to the ETA 203 to update and expand terms and definitions in the race and ethnicity categories to adhere to updated guidance/changes set out in the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Revisions to its Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, which became effective on March 29, 2024. Also, adding “Another Gender Identity/Non-binary/X” as a response option will make the data collection consistent with the U.S. State Department's passport guidelines. These changes will capture characteristics that better reflect society and the UI population across demographic groups. For example, race and ethnicity will be combined into one question and reporting category to decrease confusion by respondents; a separate race and/or ethnicity category will be added (“Middle Eastern or North African”); and “other” will be removed from “Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.” In addition to collecting age, industry, and occupation information, the revised ETA 203 report would also collect information on a claimant's primary language, self-identified disability status, level of educational attainment, and base period wages.
ETA proposes adding these categories to increase understanding of interactions between socio-economic characteristics and unemployment insurance receipt, and to inform state UI programs managers about possible needs in areas such as translation services. These categories and the specific terms proposed were identified after examining data studied, collected, or used by the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Census Bureau, and Bureau of Labor Statistics. An individual's refusal to disclose claimant demographic information will not impact eligibility determinations. Also, any responses collected and information provided will be treated as confidential. This data will not be shared beyond aggregate reporting to ETA and any demographic information associated with a specific claimant or employer will be masked or hidden from state agency staff. Furthermore, disclosure of demographic information is voluntary and a non-response to questions will continue to be reported as “Information Not Available” or INA.
The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) requires Federal agencies to develop annual and strategic performance plans that establish performance goals, have concrete indicators of the extent that goals are achieved, and set performance targets. Each year, the agency is to issue a report that “evaluate[s] the performance plan for the current fiscal year relative to the performance achieved toward the performance goals in the fiscal year covered by the report.” DOL emphasizes the importance of complete and accurate information for program monitoring and improving program performance “ . . . as a framework for agencies to communicate progress in achieving their missions.”
CHARIU:
https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/chariu.asp
Draft materials:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/snqvyrkrdllvxabc1wg90/APH6_4PK7g0jDmjwOFXA-1Y?rlkey=ewpk7zr9q3ll67un1i1mh5vqn&st=odrgl2jo&dl=0
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2024-10071