2002 Economic Census:
2002 NAICS Basis

Exclusions from the Economic Census

Industries Excluded Exclusion of Government Exclusion of Nonemployers

Industries Excluded

The following industry categories, and the subcategories within them, were not covered in the 2002 Economic Census, and are therefore not available in this report. Four additional categories were not covered in the 1997 Economic Census.

Those industries marked with "CBP" are included in County Business Patterns and in Statistics of U.S. Businesses, both reported by NAICS starting in 1998.
NAICS Industry categories excluded from the Economic Census Coverage in CBP
11 Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting CBP (except 111,112)
481111 Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation (part) [added in the 2007 Economic Census] CBP
482 Rail Transportation  
491 Postal Service  
5251 Insurance and Employee Benefit Funds  
52591 Open-End Investment Funds CBP
52592 Trusts, Estates, and Agency Accounts  
52599 Other Financial Vehicles CBP
6111 Elementary and Secondary Schools CBP (pvt schools only)
6112 Junior Colleges CBP (pvt schools only)
6113 Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools CBP (pvt schools only)
8131 Religious Organizations CBP
81393 Labor Unions and Similar Labor Organizations CBP
81394 Political Organizations CBP
814 Private Households  
92 Public Administration  

      
NAICS Additional industries category excluded from the 1997 Economic Census Coverage in CBP
54132 Landscape Architectural Services CBP
54194 Veterinary Services CBP
56173 Landscaping Services CBP
81291 Pet Care (except Veterinary Services) CBP

 

Exclusion of Government-Owned Establishments

The Economic Census does not generally include government-owned establishments, even when their primary activity would be classified in industries covered by the census. Because of these exclusions, Economic Census data for industries in many sectors might appear to be incomplete:
Sector Illustrative Governmental Activities Excluded
Utilities Public electric, gas, water and sewer utilities
Construction Highway construction performed by government employees
Retail trade Post exchanges, ship stores and similar establishments operated on military posts by agencies of the federal government
Transportation and Warehousing Publicly-operated buses and subway systems
Information Public libraries
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services Municipal trash removal
Health care and social assistance Municipal ambulance services
County or city nursing care services
Arts, entertainment and recreation Public museums or zoos

In addition, certain industries dominated by government activity are excluded from the scope of the Economic Census, as noted in the table at the top of this page.

At the same time, exceptions have been made to include certain governmental activities in the Economic Census:

In addition, the Economic Census does cover the activities of private contractors that may be carrying out governmental functions on contract. For example:

There is a separate Census of Governments, and it provides some data on revenue, expenditures, and employment for various governmental functions, such as streets and highways, solid waste management, sewerage, electric power, transit, and local libraries. At the same time, these data are not reported on an establishment basis, and are not classified by NAICS.

 

Exclusion of Nonemployers

Most Economic Census reports exclude establishments without paid employees. These "nonemployers" are typically self-employed individuals or partnerships operating businesses that they have not chosen to incorporate. (Self-employed owners of incorporated businesses typically pay themselves wages or salary, so that the business is an employer.)

Because payroll tax records are at the heart of the Census Bureau's system for keeping track of
businesses between censuses, nonemployers do not get census questionnaires and are not reflected in any of the Economic Census reports except for Nonemployer Statistics and the Survey of Business Owners.

In terms of sales or receipts, nonemployers account for roughly 3.5% of business activity, even though they constitute over 70 % of all businesses.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Economic Census
Last revised: August 18, 2008