Statistics compiled on business expenses were prepared as part of the Industry Series, 2002 Economic Census, and provide aggregate data on the operating expenses of businesses and organizations in selected sectors of the United States economy. Data on retail trade and service industries include establishments with and without paid employees, while data for merchant wholesale include only employers. Data on service industries include tax-exempt organizations with paid employees. The statistics presented for wholesale trade, retail trade, and accommodation and food are summarized by kind of business based on the 2002 North American Industrial Classification System. Statistics presented for the other industries are summarized by kind of business based on the 1997 North American Industrial Classification System. A description and comparison of these systems can be found in the 2002 NAICS and 1997 NAICS Correspondence Tables on the internet at http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html.
The economic census is a primary source of facts about the structure and functioning of the Nation's economy. It provides essential information for government, industry, business, and the general public. The Federal government is the primary user of data on business operating expenses. In particular, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the Federal agency that produces gross domestic product estimates and maintains the national economic accounts, uses Census information on expenses as an important part of the framework for the national income and product accounts, input-output tables, and economic indexes.
The BES supplements basic economic statistics produced by the 2002 Economic Census for wholesale trade, retail trade, and service industries, with estimates of operating expenses. The survey uses a probability sample of firms used to produce annual national estimates of sales, receipts, and revenue, compiled in the Annual Trade Survey, the Annual Retail Trade Survey, and the Service Annual Survey. A more detailed description of the survey methodology and estimating procedures and concepts is described in Appendix C of the report. The collected data include enterprise support locations such as warehouses and central administrative offices with data for industries served. Industries covered by the BES include:
| Merchant Wholesale Trade | NAICS Sector 42 Part |
| Retail Trade | NAICS Sectors 44-45 |
| Trucking, Couriers and Warehousing | NAICS Sectors 48-49 Part |
| Other Transportation Industries | NAICS Sectors 48 Part |
| Information, except Telecommunications | NAICS Sector 51, except 513 |
| Securities and Investment Banking | NAICS Sector 52 Part |
| Other Finance and Insurance Industries | NAICS 522 and 524 |
| Rental and Leasing | NAICS Sector 53 Part |
| Real Estate | NAICS 531 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | NAICS Sector 54 Part |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | NAICS Sector 56 |
| Trade Schools | NAICS Sector 61 Part |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | NAICS Sector 62 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | NAICS Sector 71 |
| Accommodation and Food Services | NAICS Sector 72 |
| Other Services | NAICS Sector 81 |
Expenses data for some industries are excluded from this report but may be included in a supplemental Internet release linked to www.census.gov/csd/bes. These industries include Other Transportation Industries; Other Finance and Insurance Industries; Real Estate; and Trade Schools.
Data are EXCLUDED from the BES for the following kind-of-business (KB) groups:
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting | NAICS Sector 11 |
| Mineral Industries | NAICS Sector 21 |
| Utilities | NAICS Sector 22 |
| Construction | NAICS Sector 23 |
| Manufacturing | NAICS Sectors 31-33 |
| Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation | NAICS 48111 |
| Rail Transportation | NAICS 482 |
| Oil Pipelines | NAICS 486 |
| Postal Service | NAICS 491 |
| Telecommunications | NAICS 513 |
| Insurance and Employee Benefit Funds | NAICS 5251 |
| Open-End Investment Funds | NAICS 52591 |
| Trusts, Estates, and Agency Accounts | NAICS 52592 |
| Other Financial Vehicles | NAICS 52599 |
| Landscape Architectural Services | NAICS 54132 |
| Veterinary Services | NAICS 54194 |
| Landscaping Services | NAICS 56173 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools | NAICS 6111 |
| Junior Colleges | NAICS 6112 |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools | NAICS 6113 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary Services) | NAICS 81291 |
| Religious Organizations | NAICS 8131 |
| Labor Unions and Similar Labor Organizations | NAICS 81394 |
| Political Organizations | NAICS 81394 |
| Private Households | NAICS 814 |
| Public Administration | NAICS Sector 92 |
Data presented in the Business Expenses report are for the United States as a whole. Data on a more-detailed geographic basis are available only for construction, mineral industries, and partially for manufacturing; see Internet references in the 'Related Reports' section below.
All dollar values presented are expressed in current dollars; i.e., 2002 data are expressed in 2002 dollars. Consequently, when making comparisons with prior years, users of the data should consider the inflation that has occurred. For tables in this report, dollar values are shown in thousands.
Data on sales, receipts and revenue presented for merchant wholesale, retail trade, and service industries reflect NAICS-based data compiled in the 2002 Economic Census. Data on purchases and inventories reproduced for merchant wholesale and retail trade reflect NAICS-based data compiled in the 2002 Annual Trade and Annual Retail Trade Surveys. Many of the statistics are comparable, in whole or in part, to statistics developed from other sources; notably the national income and product accounts (NIPA) tables published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) in the Survey of Current Business, and Statistics of Income published by the Internal Revenue Service. Estimates from these varying sources may differ for reasons of sampling variability and methodology.
Statistics of Income from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). These annual publications and quarterly bulletins of the IRS provide information on business receipts, cost of goods sold, selected expense items, and depreciable assets compiled from the Federal income tax returns. However, the data are not in sufficient detail to provide income-produced measures comparable with those published in this report. The cost of goods sold in Statistics of Income includes cost of materials used in manufacturing; cost of goods purchased for resale; direct manufacturing; direct labor; and certain overhead expenses. Cost of goods sold in the Business Expenses Survey excludes salaries and wages paid to the company's employees, cost of packaging materials, and office and other supplies.
The company or subcompany level of reporting on income tax returns may not be the same as used for reporting in the Business Expenses Survey. For example, manufacturing and other establishments operated by firms which are primarily retailers may be included in the IRS data. Retail establishments operated by firms primarily engaged in other industries are not represented in the IRS statistics for retail trade.
National Income and Products Accounts from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). As part of the national income and product accounts, the BEA prepares estimates of value-added (also known as gross product originating or GPO) by industry. GPO can be defined equivalently either as industry gross output (sales plus change in business inventories) less consumption of materials and services purchased from other industries, or as the sum of the industry's factor payments (e.g., wages, interest, profits, etc.) and nonfactor costs (e.g., depreciation). The latter definition is the basis for the current dollar estimates for industry GPO prepared by BEA that may be compared with the census estimates. These estimates are published annually in table 6.1 of the Survey of Current Business.
The BEA GPO measure for retail trade relates conceptually to the value produced and operating expenses measures compiled by the BES in the following manner: GPO equals value-added less lease and rental payments, cost of communication, advertising and repair services, other utilities, commissions to other firms, and subsidies; plus sales and other taxes collected directly from customers, and customs duties. GPO also equals net income produced at market prices plus cost of uninsured casualty losses and bad debts losses less subsidies.
In addition, BES data and the BEA series differ because the BEA factor payments and nonfactor costs that are summed to estimate industry GPO are obtained from a variety of data sources, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Bureau of the Census.
Data presented on the 1997 BES were based on the 1987 SIC. Data presented in this report are based on the 1997 NAICS for service industries and on 2002 NAICS for merchant wholesale, retail, and accommodation and food. Changes to the 2002 survey include the addition of inquiries for expensed computer supplies, packaging and containers, other materials, parts, and supplies for the business's own use, purchased transportation, shipping, and warehousing services, printing services, commissions expense, and cost of insurance. For 1997, these items were included with other items such as "other expenses". Data on total operating expenses for the two years are comparable for industries unaffected by the change from SIC to NAICS. Interest paid to depositors or creditors and purchased banking services are expense items asked of banks, covered for the first time by the BES. Discontinued inquiries include those for voluntary fringe benefits, included in the employer's cost for fringe benefits item, and the elimination of detail for depreciation and amortization between structures and machinery/equipment.
As in 1997, results from the 2002 BES are not available as a paperback publication. Formerly published as part of the Company Statistics Series, the 2002 Business Expenses Report is available on the Internet as report BE02-00I1 of the 2002 Industry Series, and on the 2002 Economic Census DVD, and American FactFinder.
All survey and census results may contain sampling error and nonsampling error. Sampling error is the difference between the characteristics of an entire population and the characteristics estimated from a sample survey. These differences occur because the sample does not contain the whole population. Nonsampling error encompasses all other factors that contribute to the total error of a sample survey or census estimate.
Sampling and nonsampling errors are often measured by variance and bias. The variance is the squared difference, averaged over all possible samples of the same size and design, between the estimator and its average value. The bias of an estimator of an unknown population value is the difference, averaged over all possible samples of the same size and design, between the estimator and the unknown population value. Any systematic error or inaccuracy that affects all samples in a similar way will cause the resulting estimates to be biased.
In accordance with federal law governing census reports, no data are published that would disclose the operations of an individual establishment or business.
The Census Bureau's County Business Patterns program offers annual statistics on the number of establishments, employment, and payroll classified by industry for the U.S., the states, and counties. Beginning with the 2005 survey year, the Service Annual Survey will compile data on expenses of selected service industries.
Data on wholesale and retail purchases of merchandise for resale and inventories, and operating expenses for NAICS sectors not covered in the Business Expenses Survey, are included in other Census reports.
For the 2002 annual surveys, additional data, measures of error, and explanatory text can be found on the Internet at http://www.census.gov/econ/www/wh0200.html (monthly and annual wholesale data); http://www.census.gov/econ/www/re0200.html (monthly and anual retail data); and http://www.census.gov/econ/www/servmenu.html (annual services data).
Expenses data on Broadcasting and Telecommunications were collected in the 2002 Service Annual Survey. Coverage included all firms with payroll that provided telephone communication, radio and television broadcasting, cable television, and other communication services (NAICS Industry 513). The data, measures of error, and explantory text can be found on the Internet at www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/sas-02.pdf.
Expenses data presented on manufacturing are based on information collected in the 2002 Census of Manufacturers. Such data and explanatory text can be found on the Internet linked to http://www.census.gov/econ/census02/guide/subsumm.htm.
Expenses data presented on mining are based on information collected in the 2002 Census of Mineral Industries. Such data and explanatory text can be found on the Internet linked to http://www.census.gov/econ/census02/guide/subsumm.htm.
Expenses data presented on construction are based on information collected in the 2002 Census of Construction Industries. Such data, measures of error, and explanatory text can be found on the Internet linked to http://www.census.gov/econ/census02/guide/subsumm.htm.
Enterprise support establishments, previously known as auxiliaries, include separately located warehouses; garages; corporate, subsidiary and regional managing offices; and other facilities primarily engaged in servicing a company's operating locations. Expenses data for support establishments servicing manufacturing, mineral industries and construction have been compiled on an as-reported, unpublished basis and may be available by contacting the Service Sector Statistics Division at 301-763-5181 or scb@census.gov.
Questions about business expenses data may be directed to the U.S. Census Bureau, Company Statistics Division, Economic Census Branch, Business Expenses staff, 888-211-5946 (toll free) or csd@census.gov.
N Indicates data not available or not comparable
S Indicates data withheld because estimates did not meet publication standards
X Not applicable
- Represents zero
pt. part
r Revised
n.e.c. Not elsewhere classified
z Less than $500
NAICS North American Industry Classification System