Federal Register #2026-21629

Census Bureau requests comments on proposed Annual Business Survey revisions

The Department of Commerce’s Census Bureau is seeking public comment on proposed changes to its Annual Business Survey, not soliciting a commercial purchase. - Government organizations: The Census Bureau, within the Department of Commerce, is conducting the survey jointly with the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) at the National Science Foundation (NSF). - Survey scope: The online survey collects information about business characteristics, research and development, innovation, management practices, employee training, intellectual property, technology transfer, and related topics. - Expected respondents: Approximately 230,000 businesses and nonprofit organizations, including 174,500 employer businesses without BERD content, 47,500 employer businesses with BERD content, and 8,000 nonprofit organizations. - Proposed change: Remove several business-owner demographic questions and use administrative data to produce estimates for those topics. - Estimated respondent burden: 295,858 hours annually. - No OEMs, commercial vendors, purchased products, or contracted services are identified.

Description

The Census Bureau requests public comment on a proposed revision to the Annual Business Survey before submitting the information collection request to OMB for approval. The survey collects information on business characteristics, research and development, innovation, business owner characteristics, management practices, employee training, intellectual property, and technology transfer. The 2026 ABS, collected during 2027, will sample 230,000 businesses and nonprofit organizations and remove several business-owner demographic questions, with estimates for those data produced using administrative data. Comments are due December 21, 2026.

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