February 2023 Stakeholder Report

COPAFS News

FCSM Call for Abstracts: February 6

The call for abstracts for the 2023 FCSM Conference was announced on February 6. Abstracts are due April 3, 2023. FCSM seeks abstracts that address advances in credible and accurate survey and statistical methodologies from both research and policy perspectives. Abstract should be limited to 200 words. Submissions may address but are not limited to the following topics of importance to the Federal Statistical System:

Policy Submissions: Abstracts should discuss a statistical policy topic and discuss the implications or impacts observed thus far and may raise questions or issues without having a definitive answer.

Research Submissions: Abstracts should present research studies and findings related to the topics listed above. Submissions should not simply describe a data collection program or be highly specialized.

Organized Session Submissions: An organized session submission should include 3 or 4 papers, a discussant and a chair. Organized sessions with both research and policy presentations will be given priority when the program is assembled.

Submission forms can be found on the FCSM2023 website.

Questions:

• For conference information, or to be included on the mailing list, email fcsm@copafs.org
• For questions on abstract submissions or the program, contact the Program Chair, Jeffrey Gonzalez at jeffrey@bls.gov

Town Halls on OMB’s Race and Ethnicity Standards in March
March 1, 2023: The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Federal Interagency Technical Working Group on Race and Ethnicity Standards (Working Group) are hosting three Town Halls to hear directly from the American public about the initial proposals to revise Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (SPD 15).

• Town Hall 1: Tuesday, March 14 at 2 pm
• Town Hall 2: Friday, March 17 at 2 pm
• Town Hall 3: Saturday, March 18 at 2pm

OMB is also hosting a Tribal Consultation on March 16 from 2 pm – 4 pm ET

Tribal leaders were sent a formal letter on February 14 and information is being shared by the National Indian Health Board and the National Congress of American Indians.

The initial proposals can be found on January 27’s Federal Register Notice Initial Proposals For Updating OMB’s Race and Ethnicity Statistical Standards, which closes on April 12, 2023.

The Town Halls will be accessible via Webex and audio through Verizon. Details will be forthcoming.

Upcoming Events

COPAFS Quarterly Meeting: June 2
COPAFS will hold its next Quarterly Meeting on Friday, June 2, 2023. The meeting will be virtual and the agenda will be available in May.

39th Annual NABE Economic Policy Conference: March 28-30
NABE will hold its annual conference in Washington, DC at the Capital Hilton on March 28-30, 2023. The theme for the conference is “Orienting Policy for a Polarized World”. For more information, please click here.

AERA 2023 Annual Meeting: April 13-16
AERA will hold its annual meeting in Chicago, IL on April 13-16. The theme for the conference is “Interrogating Consequential Education Research in Pursuit of Truth”. For more information, please click here.

AAPOR 78th Annual Conference: May 10-12
AAPOR will hold its annual conference In Philadelphia, PA at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown on May 10-12. The conference theme is, “Working Together: The Essential Role of Public Opinion Research in Collaborative Science”. For more information, please click here.

IASSIST 48th Annual Conference: May 30 – June 2
IASSIST will hold its 48th Annual Conference in Philadelphia, PA on May 30 – June 2. The theme for the conference is, “Diversity in Research: Social Justice from Data”. For more information, please click here.

SAVE THE DATE!
The 2023 FCSM Research and Policy Conference will be held October 24-26, 2023 at the College Park Marriott Hotel & Conference Center in College Park, MD.

Agency Releases

Bureau of Economic Analysis (DOC)

• On February 23, GDP, Fourth Quarter and Year 2022 (Second Estimate) was released. Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to the “second” estimate. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 3.2 percent. This GDP estimate is based on more complete source data than were available for the “advance” estimate issued last month. In the advance estimate, the increase in real GDP was 2.9 percent. The updated estimates primarily reflected a downward revision to consumer spending that was partly offset by an upward revision to nonresidential fixed investment (refer to “Updates to GDP”). Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, were revised up.
• On February 7, US International Trade in Goods and Services, December and Annual 2022 was released. The goods and services deficit was $67.4 billion in December, up $6.4 billion from $61.0 billion in November, revised.

Bureau of Justice Statistics (DOJ)

• On February 28, Employment of State and Federal Prisoners Prior to Incarceration, 2016 was released. More than 6 in 10 state (61%) and federal (63%) prisoners were employed in the 30 days prior to arrest for the offense for which they were incarcerated, with about half (49% state and 54% federal) having a full-time job. About a quarter of persons in state (24%) and federal (25%) prison were unemployed and not looking for work in the 30 days prior to arrest.
• On February 23, Correctional Populations in the US 2021 Statistical Tables were released. At yearend 2021, an estimated 5,444,900 persons were under the supervision of adult correctional systems in the United States, a decline of 1% (down 61,100 persons) from yearend 2020. The rate at which persons were in prison or jail increased for the first time since 2005, rising from 660 per 100,000 U.S. residents in 2020 to 680 per 100,000 in 2021, though it remained below the rate preceding the COVID-19 pandemic (810 per 100,000 in 2019). While the total community supervision population decreased 4% from yearend 2020 to yearend 2021, the incarcerated population increased 5% due to a 16% growth in the number of persons held in local jails.

Bureau of Labor Statistics (DOL)

• On February 23, Persons with a Disability: Labor Force Characteristics Summary was released. In 2022, 21.3 percent of persons with a disability were employed, up from 19.1 percent in 2021. For persons without a disability, 65.4 percent were employed in 2022, up from 63.7 percent in the prior year. The unemployment rates for persons with a disability (7.6 percent) and persons without a disability (3.5 percent) both declined in 2022.
• On February 22, Major Work Stoppages in 2022 was released. In 2022, there were 23 major work stoppages beginning in the year. The lowest annual total of major work stoppages was 5 in 2009 and the highest was 470 in 1952. Between the years 2002-2022, there have been an average of 16 work stoppages beginning in the year. A major work stoppage involves 1,000 or more workers and lasts at least one shift during the work week, Monday through Friday excluding federal holidays.

Bureau of Transportation Statistics (DOT)

• On February 8, December 2022 Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) was released. The Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI), which is based on the amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry, rose 0.6% in December from November, rising for the first month after two months of decline. From December 2021 to December 2022 the index rose 0.5%.
• On February 7, the Air Travel Consumer Report (ATCR) was released. There was a 23% increase in air travel service complaints from October to November, after complaints decreased by 12% from September to October.

Census Bureau (DOC)

• On February 16, Educational Attainment in the US: 2022 was released. In 2022, the highest level of education of the population age 25 and older in the United States ranged from less than high school to advanced degrees beyond a bachelor’s degree:
  • 9% had less than a high school diploma or equivalent.
  • 28% had high school as their highest level of school completed.
  • 15% had completed some college but not a degree.10% had an associate degree as their highest level of school completed.
  • 23% had a bachelor’s degree as their highest degree.
  • 14% had completed advanced education such as a master’s degree, professional degree or doctorate.
• On February 9, a new daily data product was released: the Index of Economic Activity (IDEA). The index effectively combines 15 of the primary economic data series produced by the Census Bureau to yield a single time series as a weighted combination. IDEA is calculated daily and published at 11:30AM.

Economic Research Service (USDA)

• On February 22, Precision Agriculture in the Digital Era: Recent Adoption on US Farms was released. Auto-steer guidance systems were used on only 5.3 percent of planted corn acres in 2001, growing to 58 percent in 2016. Estimates for 2019 suggested 72.9-percent and 64.5-percent adoption rates for sorghum and cotton (planted acreage). In the same year, GPS applications were used on 40 percent of all U.S. farm and ranchland acreage for on-farm production.
• On February 22, the US Agricultural Policy Review, 2021 was released. In 2021, developments in agricultural policies related to production agriculture, agrofood value chains, and food and nutrition assistance remained focused on addressing the continuing effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the impacts of extreme weather events. A number of different policy tools targeting production agriculture were employed in 2021—some of which were built upon existing programs, while others were new initiatives.

Energy Information Administration (DOE)

• On February 28, Company Level Imports was released. Monthly data on the origins of crude oil imports in December 2022 show that one country, Canada, exported more than one million barrels per day to the United States (see table below). The top five exporting countries accounted for 85% of United States crude oil imports in December while the top ten sources accounted for approximately 95% of all U.S. crude oil imports. The top five sources of U.S. crude oil imports for December were Canada (3.5 million b/d), Mexico (576,000 b/d), Saudi Arabia (500,000 b/d), Iraq (276,000 b/d), and Colombia (215,000 b/d). The remaining top ten sources, in order, were Brazil (148,000 b/d), Ecuador (140,000 b/d), Nigeria (134,000 b/d), Guyana (100,000 b/d), and Libya ( 93,000 b/d). Total crude oil imports averaged 6.0 million b/d in December, which was a decrease of 253,000 b/d from imports during November 2022.
• On February 13, the Drilling Productivity Report was released.

 National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA)

• Farmers and ranchers still have time to be counted in the 2022 Census of Agriculture, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Although the deadline for submitting the ag census has just passed, NASS will continue to accept completed census questionnaires through the spring to ensure all farmers and ranchers take advantage of the opportunity to be represented in the widely used data. “We thank everyone who has completed their census to date. Since data collection began last fall, over a million ag census recipients across the country have returned their questionnaires, ensuring their operations and communities are represented,” said NASS Administrator Hubert Hamer. “We want all producers to use their voices to help shape the future of American agriculture. Census data inform decisions about policy, farm and conservation programs, infrastructure and rural development, research, education, and more. The stronger the response, the stronger the data. It’s not too late for farmers to be heard through the ag census, which occurs only once every five years.”

National Center for Education Statistics (IES)

• On February 13, the December 2022 School Pulse Panel Outlying Areas was released. A universe collection of public schools in the U.S. Outlying Areas — American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands — was incorporated into the SPP beginning in August 2022. A total of 115 eligible public schools were invited to participate in the panel. Estimates have been weighted and adjusted for non-response. Data are experimental.

National Center for Health Statistics (CDC)

• On February 27, Guidance for Certifying Deaths Due to COVID-19 was expanded. An accurate count of the number of deaths due to COVID-19 infection, which depends in part on proper death certification, is critical to ongoing public health surveillance and response. When a death is due to COVID-19, it is likely the UCOD and thus, it should be reported on the lowest line used in Part I of the death certificate. Ideally, testing for COVID-19 should be conducted, but it is acceptable to report COVID-19 on a death certificate without this confirmation if the circumstances are compelling within a reasonable degree of certainty.

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NSF)

• On February 21, a new analysis from the 2020 Business Enterprise Research and Development Survey (BERD) was released. Labor costs accounted for $372 billion of U.S. business research and development expenditures in 2020—or over two-thirds of the $538 billion in business R&D performance. In 2020, these labor costs included $300.0 billion in salaries, wages, and fringe benefits; $48.3 billion in stock-based compensation; and $23.5 billion in temporary staffing.
• On February 17, the Master List of Federally Funded R&D Centers was released.

Federal Register Notices

There were 32 federal register notices posted by federal statistical agencies from January 26, 2023 to February 25, 2023. Links to each of these notices are organized by agency below.

Bureau of Economic Analysis (DOC) – 3 New Notices

Date	Notice	URL
1/31/2023	BE-605: Quarterly Survey of Foreign Direct Investment in the United States-Transactions of U.S. Affiliate With Foreign Parent	Link
1/31/2023	BE-11: Annual Survey of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad	Link
1/31/2023	BE-577: Quarterly Survey of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad-Transactions of U.S. Reporter With Foreign Affiliate	Link

 

Bureau of Justice Statistics (DOJ) – 3 New Notices

Date	Notice	URL
2/22/2023	Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed eCollection eComments Requested; Reinstatement, With Change, of a Previously Approved Collection for Which Approval Has Expired: Annual Survey of Jails	Link
2/13/2023	Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed eCollection eComments Requested; Reinstatement, With Change, of a Previously Approved Collection for Which Approval Has Expired: Annual Survey of Jails in Indian Country	Link
2/9/2023	Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection Comments Requested; Reinstatement, with Change, of a Previously Approved Collection for Which Approval Has Expired: 2022 Census of Law Enforcement Training Academies	Link

 

Bureau of Labor Statistics (DOL) – 1 New Notice

Date	Notice	URL
2/22/2023	Data Users Advisory Committee; Request for Nominations	Link

 

Bureau of Transportation Statistics (DOT) – 3 New Notices

Date	Notice	URL
2/15/2023	Agency Information Collection: Activity under OMB Review; Report of Traffic and Capacity Statistics-The T-100 System	Link
2/7/2023	Notice of Request for Clearance of a New Information Collection: Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA 22)	Link
2/3/2023	Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request – Proposed Data Security Requirements for Accessing Confidential Data	Link

 

Census Bureau (DOC) – 4 New Notices

Date	Notice	URL
2/17/2023	Census Scientific Advisory Committee Meetings (Virtual) Thursday, March 9, 2023 11AM to 5PM EDT Friday, March 10, 2023 11AM to 5PM EDT	Link
2/6/2023	Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Automated Export System (AES)	Link
2/6/2023	Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Census Household Panel	Link
2/6/2023	Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Census Military Panel	Link

 

Economic Research Service (USDA) – No New Notices

Energy Information Administration (DOE) – No New Notices

National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA) – 3 New Notices

Date	Notice	URL
2/16/2023	Notice of Intent To Seek Reinstatement of an Information Collection – 2023 Census of Aquaculture	Link
2/16/2023	Notice of Intent To Seek Approval To Reinstate an Information Collection – 2023 Irrigation and Water Management Survey	Link
1/31/2023	Notice of Intent To Request Revision and Extension of a Currently Approved Information Collection – Current Agricultural Industrial Reports (CAIR) program	Link

 

National Center for Education Statistics (DOEd) – 7 New Notices

Date	Notice	URL
2/23/2023	Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Common Core of Data (CCD) School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS) 2022-2024	Link
2/23/2023	Applications for New Awards; Personnel Development To Improve Services and Results for Children With Disabilities Program-Associate Degree Preservice Program Improvement Grants To Support Personnel Working With Young Children With Disabilities	Link
2/16/2023	National Assessment Governing Board Meeting – March 2-3, 2023 in Alexandria, VA	Link
2/13/2023	Applications for New Awards; Educational Technology, Media, and Materials for Individuals With Disabilities Program-Development of Innovative Technology Tools or Approaches To Improve Outcomes for Individuals With Disabilities	Link
2/7/2023	Application Deadline for Fiscal Year 2023; Small, Rural School Achievement Program	Link
2/6/2023	Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2024	Link
2/3/2023	Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024) Kindergarten and First-Grade National Data Collection and Transfer School Recruitment	Link

 

National Center for Health Statistics (HHS) – 6 New Notices

Date	Notice	URL
2/17/23	Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations – Rapid Surveys System (RSS)	Link
2/13/23	Board of Scientific Counselors, National Center for Health Statistics; Cancellation of Meeting	Link
2/13/23	Board of Scientific Counselors, National Center for Health Statistics; Notice of Charter Renewal	Link
2/13/23	CDC Moving Forward Reorganization	Link
2/6/23	Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review – Application Form and Related Forms for the Operation of the National Death Index (NDI)	Link
1/30/23	National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance (C&M) Committee Meeting March 7, 2023 9AM to 5PM, EST March 8, 2023 9AM to 5PM, EST	Link

 

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NSF) – 1 New Notice

Date	Notice	URL
2/17/23	Notice of Intent To Renew a Current Information Collection – Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering	Link

 

Office of Research, Evaluation & Statistics (SSA) – 1 New Notice

Date	Notice	URL
1/27/2023	Retirement and Disability Research Consortium Cooperative Agreement	Link

 

Statistics of Income Division (IRS) – No New Notices