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About the Quarterly Services Survey

Purpose:

To provide timely estimates of revenue for covered service industries. The United States Code, Title 13, authorizes this survey.

Coverage:

Currently, the Quarterly Services Survey covers the following:

Content:

All businesses sampled are asked to provide the revenue generated during the quarter. In addition, businesses classified under NAICS 51, 54, and 56 are asked to categorize their customers. Alternatively, Hospitals and Nursing and Residential Care Facilities are asked to provide quarterly expenses. Hospitals are also asked to report Inpatient Days and Discharges.

Frequency:

The survey is conducted quarterly. Data collection begins following the end of each calendar quarter and continues for approximately 14 days. A new sample is introduced every five years.

Methods:

A survey is sent to a sample of approximately 6,000 service providers with paid employees that operate in the covered sectors. Those in the sample can choose to respond though mail, fax, or internet reporting.

In order to be eligible, service businesses must be in the Business Register, which contains all Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) for listed businesses and locations of multi-establishment companies. EINs may represent one or more establishments and firms may have one or more EINs.

The sample is updated quarterly to reflect births and deaths, adding new employer businesses identified in the Business and Professional Classification Survey and deleting firms and EINs that are no longer active. During interim periods, service non-employers and businesses are represented by administrative records data or imputed values.

Products:

Quarterly Services Survey reports are available approximately 75 days following the end of each quarter. The release schedule for 2008 is as follows:

To view the current report, please click here.

Uses:

The QSS is a new principal economic indicator of Service Industry activity. It is used by the Bureau of Economic Analysis to significantly improve their quarterly GDP estimates. It also provides the Federal Reserve Board and Council of Economic Advisors with timely information to assess current economic performance. Other government and private stakeholders also benefit from a better understanding of important cyclical components of our economy.

Special Features:

Provides the most timely data on revenue produced within the Service Industry.

Related Programs: