Guide to the
2002 Economic Census

A much more detailed examination of census methodology as employed in the 1997 Economic Census is presented in the History of the Economic Census.

MAIL/NONMAIL UNIVERSE

For most sectors, large- and medium-size firms, plus all firms known to operate more than one establishment, are sent questionnaires to be completed and returned to the Census Bureau by mail. For most very small firms, data from existing administrative records of other Federal agencies are used instead. These records provide basic information on location, kind of business, sales, payroll, number of employees, and legal form of organization.

Firms in the 2002 Economic Census are divided into the mail universe and nonmail universe. The coverage of and the method of obtaining census information from each are described below:

• The mail universe consists of firms for which information is obtained by means of a mail canvass and includes:

• Large employers, i.e., all multiestablishment firms, and all employer firms with payroll above a specified cutoff. (The term ''employers'' refers to firms with one or more paid employees at any time during 2002 as shown in the active administrative records of other Federal agencies.)

• A sample of small employers, i.e., single-establishment firms with payroll below a specified cutoff in classifications for which specialized data precludes reliance solely on administrative records sources.

• The nonmail universe consists of firms that are not required to file a regular census return and includes:
• Selected small employers, i.e., single-establishment firms with payroll below a specified cutoff. Although the payroll cutoff varies by kind of business, small employers in the nonmail universe generally include firms with less than 10 employees and represented about 10 percent of total sales of establishments covered in the census. Data on sales, payroll, and employment for small employers in the nonmail universe are derived or estimated from administrative records of other Federal agencies.
• All nonemployers, i.e., all firms with no paid employees during 2002. Sales information for these firms is obtained from administrative records of other Federal agencies. Although consisting of many firms, nonemployers account for less than 10-percent of total sales of all establishments covered in the census. The census includes only those nonemployer firms which report a sales volume of $1,000 or more during 2002. Establishments with no paid employees are excluded as in previous censuses. Data for nonemployers are not included in most Economic Census reports, but are released in the annual Nonemployer Statistics series.

INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION OF ESTABLISHMENTS

The classifications for all establishments are based on the North American Industry Classification System United States, 2002 (NAICS) manual. The 2002 edition of this manual represents a relatively minor revision of the 1997 NAICS, when compared to the very substantial change between 1997 NAICS and the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. Appendix A of the 2002 NAICS manual notes the comparability between the 1997 NAICS and 2002 NAICS classification systems.

The method of assigning classifications and the level of detail at which establishments are classified differs between the mail and nonmail universe, as follows:

• The mail universe. Establishments in the mail universe are classified on the basis of their self-designation, sales of merchandise lines, and other industry-specific inquiries.

• The nonmail universe. Selected small employers are classified on the basis of the most current kind-of- business classification available from one of the Census Bureau's current sample surveys or the 1997 Economic Census. Otherwise, the classification is obtained from administrative records of other Federal agencies. If the census or administrative record classifications prove inadequate (none corresponded to a 2002 Economic Census classification in the detail required for employers), the firm is sent a brief inquiry requesting information necessary to assign a kind-of-business code.

Nonemployers are classified on the basis of information obtained from administrative records of other Federal agencies.

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