/*SHORT TITLE: Introduction to the Economic Census */ Introduction to the Economic Census =>PURPOSES AND USES OF THE ECONOMIC CENSUS The economic census is the major source of facts about the structure and functioning of the Nation's economy. It provides essential information for government, business, industry, and the general public. The economic census furnishes an important part of the framework for such composite measures as the gross domestic product, input/output measures, production and price indexes, and other statistical series that measure short-term changes in economic conditions. Policymaking agencies of the Federal Government use the data, especially in monitoring economic activity and providing assistance to business. State and local governments use the data to assess business activities and tax bases within their jurisdictions and to develop programs to attract business. Trade associations study trends in their own and competing industries and keep their members informed of market changes. Individual businesses use the data to locate potential markets and to analyze their own production and sales performance relative to industry or area averages. =>AUTHORITY AND SCOPE Title 13 of the United States Code (sections 131, 191, and 224) directs the Census Bureau to take the economic census every 5 years, covering years ending in 2 and 7. The 1992 Economic Census consists of the following eight censuses: Census of Retail Trade Census of Wholesale Trade Census of Service Industries Census of Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate Industries Census of Transportation, Communications, and Utilities Census of Manufactures Census of Mineral Industries Census of Construction Industries Special programs also cover enterprise statistics and minority-owned and women-owned businesses. (The 1992 Census of Agriculture and 1992 Census of Governments are conducted separately.) The next economic census is scheduled to be taken in 1998 covering the year 1997. =>AVAILABILITY OF THE DATA The results of the economic census are available in printed reports for sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office and on compact discs for sale by the Census Bureau. Order forms for all types of products are available on request from Customer Services, Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC 20233-8300. A more complete description of publications being issued from this census is on the inside back cover of this document. Census facts are also widely disseminated by trade associations, business journals, and newspapers. Volumes containing census statistics are available in most major public and college libraries. Finally, State Data Centers in every State as well as business and industry data centers in many States also supply economic census statistics. =>WHAT'S NEW IN 1992 The 1992 Economic Census covers more of the economy than any previous census. New for 1992 are data on communications, utilities, finance, insurance, and real estate, as well as coverage of more transportation industries. The economic, agriculture, and governments censuses now collectively cover nearly 98 percent of all economic activity. Among other changes, new 1992 definitions affect the boundaries of about a third of all metropolitan areas. Also, the Survey of Women-Owned Businesses has now been expanded to include "C" corporations. =>HISTORICAL INFORMATION The economic census has been taken as an integrated program at 5-year intervals since 1967 and before that for 1963, 1958, and 1954. Prior to that time, the individual subcomponents of the economic census were taken separately at varying intervals. The economic census traces its beginnings to the 1810 Decennial Census, when questions on manufacturing were included with those for population. Coverage of economic activities was expanded for 1840 and subsequent censuses to include mining and some commercial activities. In 1902, Congress established a permanent Census Bureau and directed that a census of manufactures be taken every 5 years. The 1905 Manufactures Census was the first time a census was taken apart from the regular every-10-year population census. The first census of business was taken in 1930, covering 1929. Initially it covered retail and wholesale trade and construction industries, but it was broadened in 1933 to include some of the service trades. The 1954 Economic Census was the first census to be fully integrated--providing comparable census data across economic sectors, using consistent time periods, concepts, definitions, classifications, and reporting units. It was the first census to be taken by mail, using lists of firms provided by the administrative records of other Federal agencies. Since 1963, administrative records also have been used to provide basic statistics for very small firms, reducing or eliminating the need to send them census questionnaires. The Enterprise Statistics Program, which publishes combined data from the economic census, was made possible with the implementation of the integrated census program in 1954. The range of industries covered in the economic censuses has continued to expand. The census of construction industries began on a regular basis in 1967, and the scope of service industries was broadened in 1967, 1977, and 1987. The census of transportation began in 1963 as a set of surveys covering travel, transportation of commodities, and trucks, but expanded in 1987 to cover business establishments in several transportation industries. For 1992, these statistics are incorporated into a broadened census of transportation, communications, and utilities. Also new for 1992 is the census of financial, insurance, and real estate industries. This is part of a gradual expansion in coverage of industries previously subjected to government regulation. The Survey of Minority-Owned Business Enterprises was first conducted as a special project in 1969 and was incorporated into the economic census in 1972 along with the Survey of Women-Owned Businesses. An economic census has also been taken in Puerto Rico since 1909, in the Virgin Islands of the United States and Guam since 1958, and in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands since 1982. Statistical reports from the 1987 and earlier censuses provide historical figures for the study of long-term time series and are available in some large libraries. All of the census data published since 1967 are still available for sale on microfiche from the Census Bureau. =>AVAILABILITY OF MORE FREQUENT ECONOMIC DATA While the census provides complete enumerations every 5 years, there are many needs for more frequent data as well. The Census Bureau conducts a number of monthly, quarterly, and annual surveys, with the results appearing in publication series such as Current Business Reports (retail and wholesale trade and service industries), the Annual Survey of Manufactures, Current Industrial Reports, and the Quarterly Financial Report. Most of these surveys, while providing more frequent observations, yield less kind-of-business and geographic detail than the census. The County Business Patterns program offers annual statistics on the number of establishments, employment, and payroll classified by industry within each county. =>SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION More information about the scope, coverage, classification system, data items, and publications for each of the economic censuses and related surveys is published in the Guide to the 1992 Economic Census and Related Statistics. More information on the methodology, procedures, and history of the censuses will be published in the History of the 1992 Economic Census. Contact Customer Services for information on availability.