Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Policy Committee's Recommendations for the 2018 SOC; Notice, 48305-48310 [2016-17424]

Agencies

• Management and Budget Office

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 141 (Friday, July 22, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48305-48310]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-17424]



[[Page 48305]]

Vol. 81

Friday,

No. 141

July 22, 2016

Part IV





 Office of Management and Budget





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 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Policy Committee's 
Recommendations for the 2018 SOC; Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 81 , No. 141 / Friday, July 22, 2016 / 
Notices

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OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET


Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Policy Committee's 
Recommendations for the 2018 SOC; Notice

AGENCY: Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and 
Budget.

ACTION: Notice of Standard Occupational Classification Policy Committee 
Recommendations to OMB and solicitation of comments.

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SUMMARY: Under 31 U.S.C. 1104(d) and 44 U.S.C. 3504(e), the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) is seeking public comment on the Standard 
Occupational Classification Policy Committee's (SOCPC) recommendations 
presented in this notice for revising the 2010 Standard Occupational 
Classification (SOC) for 2018. The review and revision of the 2010 SOC 
is intended to be completed by the end of 2016 and then released for 
use beginning in reference year 2018.
    The SOC is designed to reflect the current occupational structure 
of the United States; it classifies all occupations in which work is 
performed for pay or profit. The SOC is intended to cover all such jobs 
in the national economy, including occupations in the public, private, 
and military sectors. All Federal agencies that publish occupational 
data for statistical purposes are required to use the SOC; State and 
local government agencies are strongly encouraged to use this national 
system to promote a common language for categorizing and analyzing 
occupations.
    In a prior Federal Register notice (79 FR 29620, May 22, 2014), OMB 
and the SOCPC requested comments on: (1) The proposed revision to the 
2010 SOC Classification Principles, (2) the intention to retain the 
2010 SOC Coding Guidelines, (3) the intention to retain the 2010 SOC 
Major Group structure, (4) the correction, change, or combination of 
2010 SOC detailed occupations, and (5) proposals for new detailed 
occupations.
    The classification principles, coding guidelines, and occupations 
recommended in this notice reflect consideration of the comments 
received in response to the May 22, 2014, notice and represent the 
SOCPC's recommendations to OMB. OMB, in consultation with the SOCPC, 
plans to consider comments in response to this notice in making its 
final decisions for the 2018 revision and plans to publish its 
decisions in the Federal Register. The SOCPC then plans to finish 
preparing the Standard Occupational Classification Manual 2018 for 
publication, including finalizing occupational definitions, selecting 
associated job titles, and developing a crosswalk to the 2010 SOC.
    Request for Comments: In addition to general comments on the 
SOCPC's recommendations for the 2018 SOC, OMB welcomes comments 
specifically addressing: (1) Changes to the 2018 SOC Classification 
Principles and Coding Guidelines recommended by the SOCPC; (2) the 
proposed hierarchical structure of the 2018 SOC, including changes to 
the major, minor, broad, and detailed occupation groups; (3) the 
titles, placement, and codes of new occupations that the SOCPC is 
recommending be added in the revised 2018 SOC; and (4) preliminary 
definitions for revised and proposed 2018 SOC occupations. The proposed 
hierarchical structure and preliminary definitions for the revised 2018 
SOC are available on the SOC Web site at: www.bls.gov/soc. All comments 
submitted in response to this notice may be made available to the 
public, including by posting them on relevant Web sites. For this 
reason, please do not include in your comments information of a 
confidential nature, such as sensitive personal information or 
proprietary information.
    Please include contact information and a phone number or email 
address with your comments to facilitate follow-up if necessary.

DATES: To ensure consideration of comments on the SOCPC's 
recommendations detailed in this notice, please submit all written 
comments as soon as possible, but no later than September 20, 2016. 
Comments received with subject ``2018 SOC'' by the date specified above 
will be included as part of the official record. Please be aware of 
delays in mail processing at Federal facilities due to heightened 
security. Respondents are encouraged to send comments via email, FAX, 
or https://www.regulations.gov (discussed in ADDRESSES below).

ADDRESSES: As indicated in the SOC Manual 2010, OMB established the SOC 
Policy Committee (SOCPC), chaired by the Bureau of Labor Statistics 
(BLS), to ensure that the SOC remains relevant and meets the needs of 
individuals and organizations. Accordingly, comments may be sent to: 
Standard Occupational Classification Policy Committee, U.S. Bureau of 
Labor Statistics, Suite 2135, 2 Massachusetts Avenue NE., Washington, 
DC 20212. Telephone number: (202) 691-6500; fax number: (202) 691-6444; 
or emailed to soc@bls.gov with the subject ``2018 SOC.'' Because of 
delays in the receipt of regular mail related to heightened security, 
respondents are encouraged to use electronic communication methods. 
Comments may be sent via https://www.regulations.gov--a Federal E-
Government Web site that allows the public to find, review, and submit 
comments on documents published in the Federal Register that are open 
for comment. Simply type ``2018 SOC'' (in quotation marks) in the 
search box for ``Rules, Comments, Adjudications or Supporting 
Documents'' and follow the instructions.
    Electronic availability. This document is available on the Internet 
from the SOC Web site at https://www.bls.gov/soc under the section 
titled ``2018 SOC Revision Process.'' To obtain this document via 
email, send a request to soc@bls.gov. The SOC Web site contains 
information on the purpose, background, and structure of the SOC, as 
well as additional guidance on providing input to the SOCPC for 
consideration by OMB during the SOC revision for 2018.
    Availability of comment materials. OMB and the SOCPC welcome 
comments related to any aspect of the proposed 2018 SOC. All comments 
received may be made available to the public electronically or by 
visiting the BLS during normal business hours, 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., 
in Suite 2135, 2 Massachusetts Avenue NE., Washington, DC 20212. Please 
call BLS at (202) 691-6500 to make an appointment if you wish to 
physically view the comments received in response to this or previous 
notices regarding the SOC. Because all comments may be available to the 
public, please do not include in your comments information of a 
confidential nature, such as sensitive personal or proprietary 
information. If you send an email comment, your email address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket. Please note that responses to this public 
comment request containing any routine notice about the confidentiality 
of the communication will be treated as public comments that may be 
made available to the public notwithstanding the inclusion of the 
routine notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Bugg, Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, OMB, 10201 New Executive Office Building, 725 17th 
Street NW., Washington, DC 20503; email: pbugg@omb.eop.gov; telephone

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number: (202) 395-3095; fax number: (202) 395-7245.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose and History of the SOC

    The U.S. Federal statistical system is decentralized, with 13 
principal statistical agencies that have data collection as their 
primary mission and over 125 other agencies that collect data along 
with carrying out another primary mission. OMB coordinates the Federal 
statistical system by developing and overseeing the implementation of 
Government-wide principles, policies, standards, and guidelines 
concerning the presentation and dissemination of statistical 
information. The Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) is one of 
several standard classification systems established by OMB to ensure 
coordination of Federal statistical activities. All Federal agencies 
that publish occupational data for statistical purposes are required to 
use the SOC to increase data comparability (and thus, data utility) 
across Federal programs.
    The SOC classifies all occupations in the economy, including 
private, public, and military occupations, in order to provide a means 
to compare occupational data produced for statistical purposes across 
agencies. It is designed to reflect the current occupational work 
structure in the U.S. and to cover all occupations in which work is 
performed for pay or profit. Information about occupations--employment 
levels, trends, pay and benefits, demographic characteristics, skills 
required, and many other items--is widely used by individuals, 
businesses, researchers, educators, and public policy-makers. The SOC 
helps ensure that occupational data produced across the Federal 
statistical system are comparable and can be used together in analysis. 
It is important to note that the SOC is designed and maintained solely 
for statistical purposes. Consequently, although the classification may 
also be used for various nonstatistical purposes (e.g., for 
administrative, regulatory, or taxation functions), the requirements of 
government agencies or private users that choose to use the SOC for 
nonstatistical purposes play no role in its development or revision.
    To reflect changes in the economy and in the nature of work, the 
revision of the SOC must be considered periodically. The SOC was first 
issued in 1977, with a subsequent revision in 1980. Although the 1980 
SOC was the basis for the occupational classification system used in 
the Census of Population and Housing in 1980 and 1990, neither the 1977 
nor the 1980 SOC was widely used for other Federal data sources. With 
the implementation of the 2000 SOC, for the first time all major 
occupational data sources produced by the Federal statistical system 
provided comparable data, greatly improving the utility of the data. 
The 2010 SOC revision structured data collection, improved 
comparability, and maintained currency.
    The SOCPC, comprised of representatives from ten Federal agencies, 
was originally chartered in 2005 by OMB to coordinate the revision of 
the SOC for 2010. Beginning in 2006, OMB published notices in the 
Federal Register to solicit public comment, questions, and suggestions 
for the 2010 SOC. The notices resulted in hundreds of comments. Based 
on these comments, the SOCPC formulated recommendations to OMB. Working 
with the SOCPC, OMB made its final decisions on the 2010 SOC, published 
these decisions in the Federal Register in January 2009, and then 
published final definitions for all detailed 2010 SOC occupations in 
the Standard Occupational Classification Manual 2010.
    The 2010 SOC revision resulted in both major and minor changes to 
the 2000 SOC. Although the 2010 SOC retained the basic 2000 SOC Major 
Group structure, its revision increased clarity, corrected errors, and 
accounted for changes in technology and in the nature or organization 
of work in our economy. The 821 detailed occupations in the 2000 SOC 
expanded to 840 in 2010--a net increase that combined some occupations 
with others and added new ones as well. Meanwhile, almost half of the 
detailed occupations in the 2010 SOC remained the same as in 2000. 
However, there were significant updates to information technology, 
healthcare, and human resource occupations.
    The 2010 SOC formalized a set of Coding Guidelines to help data 
collectors code occupations more consistently and to help data users 
better understand how occupations are classified. The Direct Match 
Title File was also introduced as a new feature. The Direct Match Title 
File lists associated job titles for detailed SOC occupations. Each of 
these titles is directly matched to a single SOC occupation. All 
workers with a job title listed in the Direct Match Title File are 
classified in only one detailed SOC occupation code. Documents related 
to the Direct Match Title File are available at https://www.bls.gov/soc/#materials. The Direct Match Title File serves as the source for the 
revamped illustrative examples provided for each occupation in the SOC 
Manual 2010.
    OMB charged the SOCPC to continue as a standing committee to 
facilitate smooth processes for supporting the use of the SOC and for 
conducting future SOC revisions. Given the multiple interdependent 
programs that rely on the SOC, coordinating the decennial revisions of 
the SOC with these programs is best accomplished by timing revisions of 
the SOC for the year following North American Industry Classification 
System revisions, which occur for years ending in 2 and 7. The next 
such year is 2018, which has the additional benefit of coinciding with 
the beginning year of the American Community Survey's five-year set of 
surveys centered on the 2020 Decennial Census.

The SOC Revision for 2018--Overview of the Revision Process

    To initiate the formal 2018 SOC revision process, OMB and the SOCPC 
requested public comment in a May 22, 2014, Federal Register notice on: 
(1) The proposed revision to the 2010 SOC Classification Principles, 
(2) the intention to retain the 2010 SOC Coding Guidelines, (3) the 
intention to retain the 2010 SOC Major Group structure, (4) the 
correction, change, or combination of 2010 SOC detailed occupations, 
and (5) proposals for new detailed occupations. The comment period for 
the May 22, 2014, notice closed on July 21, 2014.
    To carry out the bulk of the revision effort, the SOCPC created 
eight workgroups to examine occupations in the following Major Groups:
     Management; Business and Financial Operations; and Legal 
Occupations (codes 11-0000, 13-0000, and 23-0000)
     Computer and Mathematical; Architecture and Engineering; 
and Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations (codes 15-0000 
through 19-0000)
     Community and Social Service; Healthcare Practitioners and 
Technical; and Healthcare Support Occupations (codes 21-0000, 29-0000, 
and 31-0000)
     Education, Training, and Library; and Arts, Design, 
Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations (codes 25-0000 through 27-
0000)
     Protective Service; Food Preparation and Serving Related; 
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance; Personal Care and 
Service; Sales and Related; and Office and Administrative Support 
Occupations (codes 33-0000 through 43-0000)
     Farming, Fishing, and Forestry; Construction and 
Extraction; Installation, Maintenance, and Repair;

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and Transportation and Material Moving Occupations (codes 45-0000 
through 49-0000 and 53-0000)
     Production Occupations (code 51-0000), and
     Military Specific Occupations (code 55-0000).
    The workgroups were charged with reviewing hundreds of comments 
received in response to the May 22, 2014, Federal Register notice and 
providing recommendations to the SOCPC. Guided by the Classification 
Principles and Coding Guidelines, the SOCPC reviewed the 
recommendations from the workgroups and reached decisions by consensus. 
In response to comments, the SOCPC in its recommendations added 
occupations, revised occupational titles and definitions, and made 
changes to the structure and placement of individual occupations. 
Materials available on the SOC Web site at: www.bls.gov/soc reflect 
these recommended revisions to the 2010 SOC for 2018.

Significant Changes in the 2018 SOC

    In response to the May 22, 2014, Federal Register notice, OMB and 
the SOCPC received over 300 public comments. The SOCPC considered all 
comments and recommended to OMB several changes to the SOC 
Classification Principles, Coding Guidelines, structure, and detailed 
definitions.

2018 SOC Classification Principles

    The SOC Classification Principles form the basis on which the SOC 
is structured and provide a foundation for classification decisions. 
The SOCPC recommends revising the 2010 SOC Classification Principles, 
available at https://www.bls.gov/soc/#materials, as described in the May 
22, 2014, notice and altering the first sentence of Classification 
Principle 8 to remove the word ``residual'' and inserting the clause 
``even though such workers may perform a distinct set of work 
activities'' at the end of the second sentence.
    Accordingly, the recommended revisions to the 2010 Classification 
Principles for use in the 2018 SOC would result in the following set of 
2018 SOC Classification Principles:
    1. The SOC covers all occupations in which work is performed for 
pay or profit, including work performed in family-operated enterprises 
by family members who are not directly compensated. It excludes 
occupations unique to volunteers. Each occupation is assigned to only 
one occupational category at the most detailed level of the 
classification.
    2. Occupations are classified based on work performed and, in some 
cases, on the skills, education and/or training needed to perform the 
work.
    3. Workers primarily engaged in planning and the directing of 
resources are classified in management occupations in Major Group 11-
0000. Duties of these workers may include supervision.
    4. Supervisors of workers in Major Groups 13-0000 through 29-0000 
usually have work experience and perform activities similar to those of 
the workers they supervise, and therefore are classified with the 
workers they supervise.
    5. Workers in Major Group 31-0000 Healthcare Support Occupations 
assist and are usually supervised by workers in Major Group 29-0000 
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations, and therefore there 
are no first-line supervisor occupations in Major Group 31-0000.
    6. Workers in Major Groups 33-0000 through 53-0000 whose primary 
duty is supervising are classified in the appropriate first-line 
supervisor category because their work activities are distinct from 
those of the workers they supervise.
    7. Apprentices and trainees are classified with the occupations for 
which they are being trained, while helpers and aides are classified 
separately because they are not in training for the occupation they are 
helping.
    8. If an occupation is not included as a distinct detailed 
occupation in the structure, it is classified in an appropriate ``All 
Other'' occupation. ``All Other'' occupations are placed in the 
structure when it is determined that the detailed occupations included 
in a broad occupation group do not account for all of the workers in 
the group, even though such workers may perform a distinct set of work 
activities. These occupations appear as the last occupation in the 
group with a code ending in ``9'' and are identified in their title by 
having ``All Other'' appear at the end.
    9. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau 
are charged with collecting and reporting data on total U.S. employment 
across the full spectrum of SOC Major Groups. Thus, for a detailed 
occupation to be included in the SOC, either the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics or the Census Bureau must be able to collect and report data 
on that occupation.
    10. To maximize the comparability of data, time series continuity 
is maintained to the extent possible.

2018 SOC Coding Guidelines

    The SOC Coding Guidelines are intended to assist users when 
assigning SOC codes and titles to survey responses, and in other coding 
activities. The SOCPC recommends: (1) Removing the last sentence from 
Coding Guideline 3 which refers to FAQs in the 2010 SOC User Guide, and 
(2) altering Coding Guideline 4, in line with the changes proposed for 
Classification Principle 8 above. Accordingly, the recommended 
revisions to the 2010 Coding Guidelines for use in the 2018 SOC would 
result in the following set of 2018 SOC Coding Guidelines:
    1. A worker should be assigned to an SOC occupation code based on 
work performed.
    2. When workers in a single job could be coded in more than one 
occupation, they should be coded in the occupation that requires the 
highest level of skill. If there is no measurable difference in skill 
requirements, workers should be coded in the occupation in which they 
spend the most time. Workers whose job is to teach at different levels 
(e.g., elementary, middle, or secondary) should be coded in the 
occupation corresponding to the highest educational level they teach.
    3. Data collection and reporting agencies should assign workers to 
the most detailed occupation possible. Different agencies may use 
different levels of aggregation, depending on their ability to collect 
data.
    4. Workers who perform activities not described in any distinct 
detailed occupation in the SOC structure should be coded in an 
appropriate ``All Other'' occupation. These occupations appear as the 
last occupation in a group with a code ending in ``9'' and are 
identified by having the words ``All Other'' appear at the end of the 
title.
    5. Workers in Major Groups 33-0000 through 53-0000 who spend 80 
percent or more of their time performing supervisory activities are 
coded in the appropriate first-line supervisor category in the SOC. In 
these same Major Groups (33-0000 through 53-0000), persons with 
supervisory duties who spend less than 80 percent of their time 
supervising are coded with the workers they supervise.
    6. Licensed and non-licensed workers performing the same work 
should be coded together in the same detailed occupation, except where 
specified otherwise in the SOC definition.

The 2018 SOC Structure and Detailed Definitions

    The SOC classifies workers at four levels of aggregation: (1) Major 
Group;

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(2) Minor Group; (3) Broad Occupation; and (4) Detailed Occupation. The 
2010 SOC contains 840 detailed occupations, aggregated into 461 broad 
occupations. In turn, the 2010 SOC combines these 461 broad occupations 
into 97 minor groups and 23 major groups. The SOCPC intends to retain 
2010 SOC major group structure for 2018. In addition, the SOCPC 
proposes altering the title for Major Group 25-0000 to read, 
``Educational Instruction and Library Occupations.'' Accordingly, the 
recommended revision would result in the following set of 2018 SOC 
Major Groups:

11-0000 Management Occupations
13-0000 Business and Financial Operations Occupations
15-0000 Computer and Mathematical Occupations
17-0000 Architecture and Engineering Occupations
19-0000 Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations
21-0000 Community and Social Service Occupations
23-0000 Legal Occupations
25-0000 Educational Instruction and Library Occupations
27-0000 Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations
29-0000 Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
31-0000 Healthcare Support Occupations
33-0000 Protective Service Occupations
35-0000 Food Preparation and Serving-Related Occupations
37-0000 Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations
39-0000 Personal Care and Service Occupations
41-0000 Sales and Related Occupations
43-0000 Office and Administrative Support Occupations
45-0000 Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations
47-0000 Construction and Extraction Occupations
49-0000 Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations
51-0000 Production Occupations
53-0000 Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
55-0000 Military Specific Occupations

    The SOCPC recommends revising the 2010 SOC for 2018 to include 869 
detailed occupations, aggregated into 457 broad occupations. The 2018 
SOC would combine these 457 broad occupations into 98 minor groups and 
the 23 major groups described above. Of the 869 proposed detailed 
occupations for the 2018 SOC, 623 would remain exactly the same as in 
the 2010 SOC, while 246 would experience some type of change to the 
code, title, and/or definition. Significant updates were made to the 
management, business, finance, information technology, engineering, 
social science, education, media, healthcare, personal care, 
extraction, and transportation occupations. Among the occupations new 
to the proposed structure are ``Project Management Specialists'' (13-
1082), ``Sustainability Analysts'' (13-1191), ``Financial Risk 
Specialists'' (13-2054), ``Data Scientists'' (15-2051), ``Calibration 
Technologists and Technicians'' (17-3028), ``Health Information 
Technology, Health Information Management, and Health Informatics 
Specialists and Analysts'' (29-9021), and ``Surgical Assistants'' (29-
9093). Within the ``Computer and Mathematical Occupations'' major 
group, the ``Computer Occupations'' minor group code would be changed 
from 15-1100 to 15-1200 to acknowledge the many changes that have taken 
place within the group. Within the ``Healthcare Practitioners and 
Technical Occupations'' major group, the 2010 SOC broad occupation 
group 29-1060 ``Physicians and Surgeons'' would be disaggregated into 
two new broad occupations ``Physicians'' (29-1210) and ``Surgeons'' 
(29-1240). Within the ``Physicians'' broad occupation group, new 
detailed occupations would be added for ``Cardiologists'' (29-1212), 
``Dermatologists (29-1213), ``Emergency Medicine Physicians'' (29-
1214), ``Neurologists'' (29-1217), ``Physicians, Pathologists'' (29-
1222), and ``Radiologists'' (29-1224). Within the ``Surgeons'' broad 
occupation group, new detailed occupations would be added for 
``Ophthalmologists'' (29-1241), ``Orthopaedic Surgeons'' (29-1242), and 
``Surgeons, Pediatric'' (29-1243). The full proposed hierarchical 
structure and types of changes to the detailed occupation definitions 
are available on the SOC Web site at www.bls.gov/soc.

Responses to Comments

    In response to the May 22, 2014, Federal Register notice, OMB and 
the SOCPC received over 300 public comments. Each individual comment 
received a unique docket number when conveyed to the SOC Coordinating 
Team at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). In some cases, the SOCPC 
considered each part of a docket number separately, adding a decimal 
point and two digits to indicate each part, (e.g., 1.0071.01, 
1.0071.02, etc.). Dockets providing the same or essentially similar 
comments or suggestions were reviewed simultaneously by the SOCPC. The 
SOCPC responses for all dockets are available on the SOC Web site at 
www.bls.gov/soc.

Request for Comments

    In addition to general comments on the SOCPC's recommendations for 
the 2018 SOC, OMB welcomes comments specifically addressing: (1) 
Changes to the 2018 SOC Classification Principles and Coding Guidelines 
recommended by the SOCPC; (2) the proposed hierarchical structure of 
the 2018 SOC, including changes to major, minor, broad, and detailed 
occupation groups; (3) the titles, placement, and codes of new 
occupations that the SOCPC is recommending be added in the revised 2018 
SOC; and (4) preliminary definitions for revised and proposed new 2018 
SOC occupations.

Preliminary Definitions for 2018 SOC Detailed Occupations

    Generally, the definitions for SOC detailed occupations contain the 
minimum description needed to determine which workers would be 
classified in a particular occupation. Comments are welcome on 
corrections concerning typographical or definitional errors and other 
changes to the proposed 2018 SOC detailed occupations, including the 
combination of occupations. Suggested changes to proposed detailed 
occupations may address the occupational title, definition, or its 
placement in the structure.
    While conducting initial outreach before the first Federal Register 
notice was published in May 2014, the SOCPC emphasized that commenters 
who wished to recommend new occupations should do so in response to the 
first Notice, so that significant changes could be considered earlier 
in the process. Commenters who are considering proposing new 
occupations should carefully follow the guidance contained in the May 
22, 2014, notice and supplemental materials available on the SOC Web 
site. Potential commenters are reminded that the SOC coding system is 
designed to allow for delineation of occupations below the detailed 
occupation level for parties wishing to collect additional levels of 
detail, as stated in Coding Guideline 3. OMB recommends that those 
needing extra detail use the structure of the Department of Labor's 
Employment and Training Administration's Occupational Information 
Network (O*NET), which adds a decimal point and additional digit(s) 
after the sixth digit of SOC codes.

[[Page 48310]]

Next Steps

    OMB, in consultation with the SOCPC, plans to consider comments in 
response to this notice in making its final decisions for the 2018 SOC 
revision and plans to publish its decisions in the Federal Register. 
The SOCPC plans to then finish preparing the Standard Occupational 
Classification Manual 2018 for publication, including finalizing 
occupational definitions, selecting associated job titles, and 
developing a crosswalk to the 2010 SOC.

Instructions for Providing SOC Comments

    Commenters are strongly encouraged to carefully review the 
Classification Principles and Coding Guidelines, as these guide the 
SOCPC's recommendations. Comments that reflect these principles and 
guidelines are likely to be more pertinent to the SOCPC's 
deliberations. Because the SOCPC expects to receive hundreds of 
comments in response to this notice, it would appreciate receiving 
comments that are concise and well-organized.
    OMB expects to consider the final recommendations and approve the 
final 2018 SOC by spring 2017. After the 2018 SOC is approved, the 
SOCPC plans to prepare the Standard Occupational Classification Manual 
2018 and supporting materials, make them available to the public, and 
continue its role of maintaining the classification leading up to the 
next revision, currently contemplated for 2028.

Howard A. Shelanski,
Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2016-17424 Filed 7-21-16; 8:45 am]
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