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1997 ECONOMIC CENSUS - RETAIL TRADE (SECTOR 44-45)
PURPOSE
To provide periodic and comprehensive statistics about retail establishments and activities. The United States Code, Title 13, requires this census and provides for mandatory responses.
COVERAGE
Domestic establishments with payroll that retail merchandise, generally without transformation, and related services. These are all establishments classified in North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Sector 44-45, Retail Trade. In 1997, over 1.1 million employer establishments accounted for retail sales of nearly $2.5 trillion.
CONTENT
Basic data obtained for all establishments include kind of business, geographic location, dollar volume of sales, annual and first quarter payroll, and employment for the pay period including March 12. Establishments receiving a census form provide additional data on sales by merchandise line and industry-specific measures, such as number of prescriptions sold by drug stores.
COMPARABILITY TO THE 1992 CENSUS
The adoption of the NAICS has had a major impact on the comparability of data between the 1997 and 1992 censuses.
The Retail Trade sector includes most of what was classified in Retail Trade under the SIC system. Excluded from this sector, however, are eating and drinking places and mobile foodservices (which are now in the Accommodation and Foodservices sector); pawn shops (which are now in the Finance and Insurance sector); and bakeries (which are now in the Manufacturing sector).
In addition, this sector now includes industries previously classified in Wholesale Trade that sold merchandise using facilities open to the general public. Prominent examples of these are automotive supplies dealers, computer and peripheral equipment merchants, office supplies dealers, farm supplies dealers, and building materials dealers.
FREQUENCY
Every 5 years since 1972, for years ending in "2" and "7." From 1929 through 1967, retail trade statistics were published periodically as part of the census of business. Data collection begins in December of the census year and responses are due back in about 8 weeks. Data are requested for activities taking place during the census calendar year.
METHODS
A mail-out/mail-back data collection for establishments of multi-unit companies, large single-unit employers, and a sample of small employers; and administrative records data for non-selected small employers and all nonemployers. All establishments of multi-unit firms and single-unit employers with annualized payroll above a size cutoff receive a census form. A sample of small employers also receives a census form. This sample is selected using a stratified sampling procedure with strata based on industry and geography. Basic data for non-selected small employers are obtained from Federal administrative records. Estimates for sales by merchandise line and other industry-specific data are based partly on small employer sample results.
PRODUCTS
Geographic Area Series reports consist of 52 reports, available in portable document format (PDF) or in manipulable file format: one for the U.S., each state, and the District of Columbia. These files contain data for establishments with payroll by NAICS code for the U.S., states, metropolitan areas, counties, and places.
Subject Series reports consist of 3 reports, available in PDF and manipulable file format, presenting tabulations for the U.S. with some additional geographic detail. Titles include: Establishment and Firm Size (Including Legal Form of Organization), Merchandise Line Sales, and Miscellaneous Subjects. A new Summary Report provides highlights of the most widely used statistics for the retail sector from previously issued reports and will be available in print and PDF.
The ZIP Code Statistics Series report summarizes data for retail employers by 5-digit ZIP Code and gives NAICS code detail for establishments by sales and employment size category. Data are only available on CD-ROM.
USES
The Bureau of Economic Analysis uses retail census data to benchmark the national income and product accounts and input-output tables. The Census Bureau uses retail data in sampling and benchmarking activities for current surveys. Trade associations and other businesses and organizations use retail data for analysis, marketing, and publicity.
SPECIAL FEATURES
The only source of detailed industry and geographic data on sales, sales by merchandise line, and key industry-specific measures.
Core Business Statistics Series: SIC-Based Comparative Statistics | Bridge Between NAICS and SIC
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