Manufacturing industries recorded the most sales ($666 million) and employed the most workers (16,941) in the Northern Mariana Islands. This is according to the first Census Bureau report on the island areas from the 2002 Economic Census.

     The report, 2002 Economic Census of Island Areas: Northern Mariana Islands [PDF], said the apparel industry led the manufacturing sector with sales of $639 million. It employed 16,351 workers in 42 establishments.

     The Northern Mariana Islands is a commonwealth made up of 14 islands in the North Pacific. It is about 2.5 times the size of Washington, D.C.

     Other highlights:

• Overall, 1,276 businesses in the Northern Mariana Islands were covered in the census.
  These businesses had sales of $1.8 billion, employed nearly 33,000 people and had an
  annual payroll of $382 million.

• After manufacturing, the next largest sectors in sales or receipts were retail trade
  ($312 million), accommodations and food services ($197 million) and wholesale trade
  ($123 million).

• Travel accommodation businesses employed 2,789 people. This industry had an annual payroll of $35 million.

     The report contains the first information for U.S. island areas based on the North American Industry Classification System. This system provides much more data about particular components of the economy such as the information, finance and insurance, real estate and health-care industries.

     Because previous censuses were based on the Standard Industrial Classification System codes, information collected for 2002 for most industries is not directly comparable.

     Governments and businesses use data from economic censuses, conducted every five years, as benchmarks for economic planning. Results for Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa and Puerto Rico will be issued later this year.

     As in all surveys, economic census data are subject to nonsampling error, which includes errors of response, processing, nonreporting and coverage.

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