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Zip Code Business Patterns 2001

Overview

                    
ZIP Code Business Patterns provides economic data by industry for small
geographic areas and is useful for studying the economic activity of small
and local areas.

Most of the nation's economic activity is covered in this series.  Data are
excluded for self-employed persons, domestic service workers, railroad
employees, agricultural production workers, most government employees, and
employees on ocean-borne vessels or in foreign countries.  Beginning in
1998, data are tabulated by industry as defined in the North American
Industry Classification System: United States, 1997 (NAICS). Data for 1997
and earlier years are based on the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
System.  For more information on the relationship between the two systems,
see the "Bridge Between NAICS and SIC" at
http://www.census.gov/epcd/ec97brdg (internet connection required).

Similar data going back to 1994 are available from Customer Services, Phone:
(301) 763-4100.  Data for years prior to 1994 are available as special
tabulations on a cost-reimbursable basis.  For more information, contact
the Economic Planning and Coordination Division, Register Analysis Branch,
Washington, DC 20233.  Phone: (301) 763-2580.  E-mail: cbp@census.gov.
Visit the County Business Patterns home page at
http://www.census.gov/epcd/cbp/view/cbpview.html (internet connection
required).

Sources of Data

ZIP Code Business Patterns basic data items are extracted from the Business
Register, a file of all known single and multi-establishment companies
maintained and updated by the Bureau of the Census.  The annual Company
Organization Survey provides individual establishment data for
multiestablishment companies.  Data for single establishment companies are
obtained from various Census Bureau programs, such as the Annual Survey of
Manufactures and Current Business Surveys, as well as from administrative
records of the Internal Revenue Service and the Social Security
Administration.

Comparability with Other Data

County Business Patterns

The County Business Patterns data are extracted from the same sources as
the ZIP Code Business Patterns.  The County Business Patterns series
provides similar data by county on an annual basis.

1997 Economic Censuses

In comparing the employment and payroll shown in this series with economic
censuses data, the user should bear in mind that definitional and coverage
differences may affect the direct comparison of data items.  The
definitions are detailed in the documentation of the various products. The
economic censuses present data reported for individual establishments;
whereas, ZIP Code Business Patterns are based primarily on administrative
records and data reported from current surveys.  While every effort is made
to resolve significant differences for the same establishment, differences
are known to exist.

 
Data Withheld

In accordance with U.S. Code, Title 13, Section 9, no data are shown that
would disclose the operations of an individual employer.  However, the
number of establishments in an industry classification and the distribution
of these establishments by employment-size class are not considered to be
disclosures, and so this information may be released even though other
information is withheld.

Reliability of Data

All data are tabulated from universe files and are not subject to sampling
errors.  However, the data are subject to nonsampling errors.  Nonsampling
errors can be attributed to many sources: inability to identify all cases
in the universe; definition and classification difficulties; differences in
interpretation of questions; errors in recording or coding the data
obtained; and estimation of employers who reported too late to be included
in the tabulations and for records with missing or misreported data.

The accuracy of the data is determined by the joint effects of the various
nonsampling errors.  No direct measurement of these effects has been
obtained; however, precautionary steps were taken in all phases of
collection, processing, and tabulation to minimize the effects of
non-sampling errors.

Source: ZIP Code Business Patterns 2001 Help