FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2003 Mike Bergman CB03-09 Public Information Office (301) 763-3030/457-3670 (fax) (301) 457-1037 (TDD) e-mail: pio@census.gov Quotes and radio sound bites Easier, Faster, Smarter Census Bureau Emphasizes Electronic Reporting in 2002 Economic Census American businesses that received 2002 Economic Census forms in December for the first time can file their information electronically, according to the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. Responses are due by Feb. 12. Businesses that received a form are required by law (Title 13, U.S. Code) to respond. "Allowing businesses to extract data from their own spreadsheets and drop them into electronic questionnaires is a major breakthrough," said Charles Louis Kincannon, director of the Census Bureau. "It demonstrates the Census Bureau's commitment to e-government and translates into less of a reporting burden for business." Businesses that want to try electronic reporting may obtain information from the Census Bureau help site. Using information they received with their paper form in December, they may download a Windows -based electronic questionnaire tailored to their business type. Businesses may complete the electronic forms on their own computers, at their own pace, and file the form on a secure Internet site or mail a diskette to the Census Bureau. The real payoff comes for firms with dozens or even hundreds of locations. Instead of having to complete a separate form for each establishment, businesses may import information from company spreadsheets right into the economic census software. "Electronic reporting can significantly lower the reporting costs incurred by some of our largest and most important businesses," says Tom Mesenbourg, assistant director of the Census Bureau. "It saves us time and money as well." In addition to accepting electronic reporting, the Census Bureau's help site offers answers to questions businesses ask most often and provides other services such as verification that their report was received. Complementing the online help site is a toll-free help line [(800) 233-6136], answered by Census Bureau employees from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday. Taken every five years, the economic census is the benchmark for measuring 96 percent of the nation's gross domestic product. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan has called it "indispensable to understanding America's economy." In addition to the Federal Reserve and other federal agencies, state and local officials use economic census data to design programs that promote business development. The private sector uses the data for activities such as developing business plans, calculating market shares and evaluating new business opportunities. Data on 1,000 industries will be processed during 2003, with the first results expected in early 2004. The economic census will yield more than 1,600 reports and data products for states, counties, places and ZIP codes. Data are published on the Census Bureau's Internet site.