# Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979
**ACTION:**
Notice of availability; request for comments.
**SUMMARY:**
The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)-sponsored information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.
**DATES:**
The OMB will consider all written comments that the agency receives on or before July 6, 2022.
**ADDRESSES:**
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to *www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.* Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function.
Comments are invited on: (1) whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Department, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) if the information will be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) the accuracy of the agency's estimates of the burden and cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (4) ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information collection; and (5) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:**
Nicole Bouchet by telephone at 202-693-0213, or by email at *[email protected].*
**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:**
The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) is a representative national sample of persons who were born in the years 1957 to 1964 and lived in the U.S. in 1978. These respondents were ages 14 to 22 when the first round of interviews began in 1979; they were ages 57 to 64 as of December 31, 2021. The NLSY79 was conducted annually from 1979 to 1994 and has been conducted biennially since 1994. The longitudinal focus of this survey requires information to be collected from the same individuals over many years in order to trace their education, training, work experience, fertility, income, and program participation.
In addition to the main NLSY79, the biological children of female NLSY79 respondents have been surveyed since 1986. A battery of child cognitive, socio-emotional, and physiological assessments was administered biennially from 1986 until 2012 to NLSY79 mothers and their children. Starting in 1994, children who had reached age 15 by December 31 of the survey year (the Young Adults) were interviewed about their work experiences, training, schooling, health, fertility, self-esteem, and other topics. Funding for the NLSY79 Child and Young Adult surveys has been provided by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development through an interagency agreement with the BLS and through a grant awarded to researchers at the Ohio State University Center for Human Resource Research. The collection referenced in this notice does not include a collection of the NLSY79 Child and Young Adult surveys, but additional collections may be contemplated in the future.
One of the goals of the Department of Labor is to produce and disseminate timely, accurate, and relevant information about the U.S. labor force. The BLS contributes to this goal by gathering information about the labor force and labor market and disseminating it to policymakers and the public so that participants in those markets can make more informed, and thus more efficient, choices. Research based on the NLSY79 contributes to the formation of national policy in the areas of education, training, employment programs, school-to-work transitions, and preparations for retirement. In addition to the reports that the BLS produces based on data from the NLSY79, members of the academic community publish articles and reports based on NLSY79 data for the DOL and other funding agencies. To date, more than 2,750 articles examining NLSY79 data have been published in scholarly journals. The survey design provides data gathered from the same respondents over time to form the only data set that contains this type of information for this important population group. Without the collection of these data, an accurate longitudinal data set could not be provided to researchers and policymakers, thus adversely affecting the DOL's ability to perform its policy- and report-making activities. For additional substantive information about this ICR, see the related notice published in the *Federal Register* on March 1, 2022 (87 FR 11484).
*Agency:* DOL-BLS.
*Title of Collection:* National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979.
*OMB Control Number:* 1220-0109.
*Affected Public:* Individuals or households.
*Total Estimated Number of Respondents:* 6,355.
*Total Estimated Number of Responses:* 6,455.
*Total Estimated Annual Time Burden:* 7,318 hours.
*Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden:* $0.
(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D))
Nicole Bouchet,
Senior PRA Analyst.