Guide to the
1997 Economic Census
METHODOLOGY
A much more detailed examination of census methodology 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, were 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 were used instead. These records provided basic information
on location, kind of business, sales, payroll, number of employees,
and legal form of organization.
Firms in the 1997 Economic Census were 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 consisted of firms for which information was
obtained by means of a mail canvass and included:
- 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 1997 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 precluded reliance solely on
administrative records sources.
- The nonmail universe consisted of firms that were not required to
file a regular census return and included:
- Selected small employers, i.e., single-establishment firms
with payroll below a specified cutoff. Although the payroll
cutoff varied by kind of business, small employers in the
nonmail universe generally included 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 were derived or estimated from administrative
records of other Federal agencies.
- All nonemployers, i.e., all firms with no paid employees
during 1997. Sales information for these firms was obtained
from administrative records of other Federal agencies.
Although consisting of many firms, nonemployers
accounted for less than 10-percent of total sales of all
establishments covered in the census. The census included
only those nonemployer firms which reported a sales
volume of $1,000 or more during 1997. Establishments with
no paid employees were excluded as in previous censuses.
Data for nonemployers are not included in this report, but
are released as part of the County Business Patterns
program.
INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION OF ESTABLISHMENTS
The classifications for all establishments in this sector were based on
the North American Industry Classification System United States,
1997(NAICS) manual, which is for sale by Superintendent of
Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC
20402, Stock no. 041-001- 00314-2. The 1997 edition of this manual
represents a major revision from the Standard Industrial Classification
Manual, 1987 (SIC). Appendix A of the 1997 NAICS manual notes
the comparability between the 1987 SIC and 1997 NAICS
classification systems.
The method of assigning classifications and the level of detail at
which establishments were classified differed between the mail and
nonmail universe as follows:
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