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BLS CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (CPI) 2009
Abstract
This system is named the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The objective of the CPI system is to measure the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of goods and services. The PIA is being conducted based on a determination by DOL that while the CPI is not a Privacy Act system, it does fall under the E-Gov Act and contains information about members of the public, which requires the program to complete a PIA.
Overview
This system is named the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and is owned by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Prices and Living Conditions, Division of Consumer Prices and Price Indexes.
The system produces the Consumer Price Index and is part of BLS strategic goal 1 and DOL Performance Goal 1A.
The information contained in the CPI system is primarily composed of prices for goods and service, identifying information on these goods and services, the names of businesses and individuals who provide this information and price indexes which are estimated and published from the underlying data on these goods and services.
Examples of typical transactions might be the transmission of information collected by a field economist to a central database; a commodity analyst accessing price data for review and the execution of a computer program to calculate an estimate of inflation for a particular good or service.
No data sharing takes place.
There are eight subsystems:
Subsystem |
Function |
20201 C&S Mainframe |
Data Collection, Estimation |
20202 TPOPS |
Sampling |
20203 Index Estimation/Publication |
Estimation; Publication |
20204 Housing |
Data Collection, Estimation, Sampling |
20205 C&S Micro |
Data Collection |
20206 Cost Weights |
Estimation |
20207 CADC |
Data Collection |
20208 Sales Tax |
Data Collection |
Section 2 of Title 29, Chapter 1, Subchapter 1, United States Code Annotated directs the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), under the direction of the Secretary of Labor, to collect, collate, and report full and complete statistics of the conditions of labor and the products and distribution of the products of the same. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the only index compiled by the U.S. Government that is designed to measure changes in the purchasing power of the urban consumer's dollar. The collection of prices directly from retail establishments is essential for the timely and accurate calculation of the commodities and services component of the CPI. Respondents include retail establishments throughout the country. If the information were not collected, the consequences to both the Federal and private sectors would be far- reaching and would have serious repercussions on Federal government policy and institutions.
Introduction
The objective of the CPI system is to measure the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of goods and services. The CPI has three principal uses: First, as a current measure of inflation, used by both the private sector and the government; second, as a deflator of other economic series, such as the national income and product accounts; and third, as a means of adjusting dollar values, such as Social Security payments.
Characterization of the Information
Specify whether the system collects personally identifiable information (PII) on DOL employees, other federal employees, contractors, members of the public (U.S. citizens), foreign citizens, or minor children.
Members of the public. More specifically, individuals associated with housing units selected to be in the survey.
- What are the sources of the PII in the information system?
- What is the PII being collected, used, disseminated, or maintained?
- How is the PII collected?
- How will the information be checked for accuracy?
- What specific legal authorities, arrangements, and/or agreements defined the collection of information?
- Privacy Impact Analysis
Information is provided by the individuals.
The PII being collected is name, address and telephone number. It is used only to the extent that the individual continues to agree to cooperate with our survey.
By direct contact with an individual by a field economist who enters information directly on to a tablet computer.
Since the individual is supplying the PII, and the focus of the survey is the housing unit itself, the PII is not checked for accuracy.
Letters of Introduction are sent to potential respondents describing the Consumer Price Index Program and the reasons for these individuals being contacted. Included in this letter is a notion that while important, cooperation in this data collection is voluntary.
Additional information is provided at the point of contact following the standards of SO-1291 Confidential Burden Statement, which includes the fact that cooperation is voluntary; that all information collected is confidential; that it is being collected for strictly statistical purposes; and that the interview should take about 15 minutes.
The PII data collected is name, address and telephone number for about 38,000 individuals. The data is collected from those individuals who voluntarily agree to cooperate with our survey and the PII is only used to maintain contact with those individuals.
The privacy risk is low and would be comprised of revealing where an individual lived and a phone number. The main risk of exposure would come when a field economist loses the computer on which the data was collected. The risk is mitigated by the fact that the hardware storage device on computers used to collect the data is encrypted.
Uses of the PII
The following questions are intended to clearly delineate the use of information and the accuracy of the data being used.
- Describe all the uses of the PII
- What types of tools are used to analyze data and what type of data may be produced?
- Will the system derive new data, or create previously unavailable data, about an individual through aggregation of the collected information?
- If the system uses commercial or publicly available data, please explain why and how it is used.
- Privacy Impact Analysis
The PII is only used to maintain contact with those individuals who agree to cooperate with our survey.
PII data is not used or analyzed. Information from the individuals on the rents they pay is used and analyzed. Data on rental inflation is produced.
No.
Not applicable.
Access to the PII data is limited with those who have a need to know and is encrypted as described above.
Retention
The following questions are intended to outline how long information will be retained after the initial collection.
- How long is information retained in the system?
- Has the retention schedule been approved by the DOL agency records officer and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)?
- Privacy Impact Analysis
The CPI follows the proper retention schedules which call for data to be retained for 30 years.
Yes.
The CPI system follows established guidelines for data retention.
Internal Sharing and Disclosure
The following questions are intended to define the scope of sharing within the Department of Labor.
- With which internal organization(s) is the PII shared, what information is shared, and for what purpose?
- How is the PII transmitted or disclosed?
- Privacy Impact Analysis
There is no sharing of PII information.
PII data is electronically transmitted between a field economist computer and a central server in the BLS National Office using a smartcard-protected SecureRAS or VPN connection. PII data is not disclosed.
No risks exist due to sharing.
External Sharing and Disclosure
The following questions are intended to define the content, scope, and authority for information sharing external to DOL which includes federal, state and local government, and the private sector.
- With which external organization(s) is the PII shared, what information is shared, and for what purpose?
- Is the sharing of PII outside the Department compatible with the original collection? If so, is it covered by an appropriate routine use in a SORN? If so, please describe. If not, please describe under what legal mechanism the program or system is allowed to share the PII outside of DOL.
- How is the information shared outside the Department and what security measures safeguard its transmission?
- Privacy Impact Analysis
No data is shared with external organizations.
Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
Notice
The following questions are directed at notice to the individual of the scope of PII collected, the right to consent to uses of said information, and the right to decline to provide information.
- Was notice provided to the individual prior to collection of PII?
- Do individuals have the opportunity and/or right to decline to provide information?
- Do individuals have the right to consent to particular uses of the information? If so, how does the individual exercise the right?
- Privacy Impact Analysis
Yes. Letters of Introduction are sent to potential respondents describing the Consumer Price Index Program and the reasons for these individuals being contacted. Included in this letter is a notion that while important, cooperation in this data collection is voluntary.
Additional information is provided at the point of contact following the standards of SO-1291 Confidential Burden Statement, which includes the fact that cooperation is voluntary; that all information collected is confidential; that it is being collected for strictly statistical purposes; and that the interview should take about 15 minutes.
Yes.
There is only one use and that is, as stated above, to maintain contact with the individual for continued cooperation with our survey. If at any time an individual wants to discontinue cooperation, they can notify the field economist.
There are no risks with individuals being unaware of collection.
Access, Redress, and Correction
The following questions are directed at an individual’s ability to ensure the accuracy of the information collected about them.
- What are the procedures that allow individuals to gain access to their information?
- What are the procedures for correcting inaccurate or erroneous information?
- How are individuals notified of the procedures for correcting their information?
- If no formal redress is provided, what alternatives are available to the individual?
- Privacy Impact Analysis
The information was collected directly from the individual. It is not changed or altered in any way. Individuals do not have access to the collected information stored in the CPI system.
If incorrect data was captured upon first contact, subsequent contacts provide the opportunity to correct the information.
During the interview process, individuals may update their information.
Not Applicable.
Individuals have the opportunity to notify the CPI field economist if their contact information has changed.
Technical Access and Security
The following questions are intended to describe technical safeguards and security measures.
- What procedures are in place to determine which users may access the system and are they documented?
- Will Department contractors have access to the system?
- Describe what privacy training is provided to users, either generally or specifically relevant to the program or system?
- What auditing measures and technical safeguards are in place to prevent misuse of data?
- Privacy Impact Analysis
BLS IT security procedures instruct on the process of requesting access, creating access accounts, and account management. In addition, there are training prerequisites for security awareness and use of the system’s applications.
Yes.
Annually, Computer Security Awareness Training is provided both by DOL and BLS. Additional training is maintained by the CPI program office (DCPPI).
Computers containing the data use two-factor authentication. Transmission of the data is performed by applications and requires a smartcard. The data storage device on the data collection computers is encrypted to prevent access by unauthorized persons. Active Directory is used to establish and control user permissions to data repositories.
The employed security controls mentioned above for accessing and transmitting the data mitigate the risks of unauthorized access to the data.
Technology
The following questions are directed at critically analyzing the selection process for any technologies utilized by the system, including system hardware, RFID, biometrics, and other technology.
- What stage of development is the system in, and what project development life cycle was used?
- Does the project employ technology which may raise privacy concerns? If so please discuss their implementation?
The CPI system is in the Maintenance stage. The CPI project development life cycle is based on the Rational Unified Process (RUP) and conforms to the DOLSDLCM.
The project employs Tablet PC "pen-based" computers which are used to conduct mobile data collection activities, to include the electronic transmission of PII data between the computers and the Washington Office infrastructure. The employed security controls on the mobile computers include two-factor authentication using Entrust/PKI with Smartcards, and disk encryption using PointSec For PC. The employed data transmission security controls include SecureRAS and VPN.
Determination
- As a result of performing the PIA, what choices has the agency made regarding the information technology system and collection of information?
BLS has completed the PIA for the Consumer Price Index system which is currently in operation. BLS has determined that the safeguards and controls for this moderate system adequately protect the information.
BLS has determined that it is collecting the minimum necessary information for the proper performance of a documented agency function.
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