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Jack Moody/Donna Hambric
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U.S. Information Industries Generate $623 Billion in Receipts,
Census Bureau Reports
The nation's 114,000 information services businesses reported receipts
of $623 billion and employed more than 3 million people in 1997, according
to Economic Census reports released today by the Commerce Department's
Census Bureau.
The reports show data for 34 kinds of businesses in the information
sector of the new North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
and, for the first time, feature data for 12 newly recognized information
services industries.
Other highlights from the reports, by information subsector, include:
Broadcasting and telecommunications
- Broadcasting and telecommunications was the largest information
subsector, with $346 billion in receipts. Receipts for wired
telecommunications carriers ($209 billion) were more than five
times as much as those of wireless telecommunications carriers
($38 billion).
- The reports contain the first-ever results for cable networks ($10
billion in receipts) and for cable and other program distributors,
such as cable systems or direct-to-home satellite systems ($35
billion in receipts).
- Satellite telecommunications operators, another newly recognized
industrial classification, recorded $5.1 billion in receipts.
Publishing
- The nation's publishing industries accounted for $179 billion in
receipts, led by software publishers with $62 billion. (California
led all states with $18.6 billion in software publishing receipts,
with Santa Clara County alone accounting for $5.8 billion.)
- Newspaper publishers were the second-largest publishing industry,
with $42 billion in receipts, followed by periodical publishers
with $30 billion, book publishers with $23 billion and database
and directory publishers with $12 billion. Publishing industries
also include electronic distribution, such as the Internet.
Motion picture and sound recording
- The motion picture and sound recording subsector generated $56
billion in receipts, led by the motion picture and video
production industry with $20 billion and motion picture and video
distributors with $13 billion. The integrated record production
and distribution industry followed with $8.7 billion.
- All motion picture and video industries produced $45 billion in
receipts. California led all states with $26.1 billion in
receipts, which represented over half of the nation's total
receipts. Los Angeles County accounted for $24 billion.
- The nation's sound recording industries produced $11 billion in
receipts. New York led all states with $5.0 billion in receipts,
almost half of the nation's total. New York City, with $4.9
billion in receipts, accounted for nearly all of its state's
total. California ($4.7 billion) and Tennessee ($567 million) were
next among states.
Information and data processing services
- The information and data processing services subsector accounted
for $42 billion in receipts; the data processing services industry
led with $31 billion, followed by online information services with
$8 billion.
The 1997 Economic Census marks the premiere of NAICS, a new business
classification system that replaces the Standard Industrial Classification
(SIC) system begun 60 years ago.
"The United States developed the new system jointly with Canada and
Mexico, making it much easier to compare data with our North American Free
Trade Agreement partners," said Frederick Knickerbocker, the Census
Bureau's associate director for economic programs. "It is also much easier
to update, so that economic data can keep pace with the nation's changing
economy."
The 52 reports one for each state, the District of Columbia and the
United States are part of the 1997 Economic Census, Geographic Area
Series, Information series. Released on the Internet, the reports present
summary data by industry for the United States as a whole and each state.
For selected industries, data are available for metropolitan areas,
counties and places.
Data compiled for the information sector are subject to nonsampling
errors. Nonsampling errors can be attributed to many sources: inability to
identify all cases in the universe; definition and classification
difficulties; differences in the interpretation of questions; errors in
recording or coding the data obtained; and other errors of collection,
response, coverage, processing and estimation for missing or misreported
data.
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