Following up on our June 24th post...

Last Friday (June 24th), we shared some of the results from the 2009 American Time Use Survey. Today we learned that the Bureau of Labor Statistics would like to expand the info available from the survey by adding a few new questions.

The BLS would like to replace the "missed days" questions with questions on time spent providing care to elderly persons (aka eldercare). According to the proposal, "The eldercare questions are designed to collect data on who is providing unpaid eldercare, the time they spend providing this care, and the types of eldercare activities they do."

The BLS would also like to ask questions about the availablity of leave time (vacation, sick, etc.) for employed persons. "The data will provide information about the types of leave available to workers, the reasons for which workers are able to take leave, their leave activity, and information about whether workers can adjust their schedules to balance personal and work obligations instead of taking leave."

Interesting stuff! Right now these changes are in the "proposal" phase. The BLS has to gather comments from the public before it can gain approval and move forward. But perhaps, a couple of years from now, our cliff notes on the Time Use Survey will include info on eldercare!

If you want to read the official proposal for these changes, it's available online.