Jan 15 -- The Census Bureau invites comments on its request to OMB to approve revisions in the Small Business Pulse Survey for Phase 3, Cycle 2, which will occur over 9 weeks starting February 8, 2021. Comments should be submitted by January 29, 2021.
The continuation of the Small Business Pulse Survey is responsive to stakeholder requests for high frequency data that measure the effect of changing business conditions during the Coronavirus pandemic on small businesses. While the ongoing monthly and quarterly economic indicator programs provide estimates of dollar volume outputs for employer businesses of all size, the Small Business Pulse Survey captures the effects of the pandemic on operations and finances of small, single location employer businesses. As the pandemic continues, the Census Bureau is best poised to collect this information from a large and diverse sample of small businesses.
The Phase 3 cycle 2 survey will modify the questionnaire content to capture information on concepts such as business closings, changes in revenue, changes in employment and hours, disruptions to supply chain, operating capacity factors, and expectations for future operations. These economic data will be used to understand how changes due to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic have and continue to affect American businesses and the U.S. economy.
Small Business Pulse Survey website:
https://www.census.gov/data/experimental-data-products/small-business-pulse-survey.html
Phase 3, Cycle 2 submission to OMB:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202101-0607-002 Click IC List for revised survey instrument, View Supporting Statement for narrative on revisions, methods, plans, schedule.
FR notice inviting comment:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/15/2021-00851/agency-information-collection-activities-submission-to-the-office-of-management-and-budget-omb-for
Point of contact: Nick Orsini, Associate Director for Economic Programs, Census Bureau 301-763-6959 nick.orsini@census.gov
For AEA members wishing to submit comments, "A Primer on How to Respond to Calls for Comment on Federal Data Collections" is available at
https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=5806