Mar 2 -- The U.S. Census Bureau invites comments to OMB by April 1, 2022 regarding its proposal to conduct the 2022 Economic Census.
The 2022 Economic Census will compile statistics on an estimated 8.3 million employer business establishments in industries defined by the 2022 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Data on 4.7 million of these establishments will be obtained by direct data collection from an estimated 4.4 million respondents. Data from administrative records or imputation will be used for the remaining 3.6 million establishments—as well as for any contacted establishments that fail to respond. In addition to the general enumeration of businesses, the 2022 census program also includes surveys of business owners and commodity flows. Those surveys will be submitted separately.
This request for approval covers the information collection instruments and procedures that will be used in the enumeration of U.S. domestic businesses operating in the United States as well as the Island Areas of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The public administration sector (i.e., governments) is out of scope to the economic census. The U.S. Census Bureau conducts, and will submit separately for approval, the quinquennial census of governments and other current programs that measure the activities of government establishments.
The Island Areas component provides the only source of comprehensive data for the Island Areas at a geographic level similar to U.S. counties. It will produce basic statistics by industry for number of establishments, value of shipments/receipts/revenue/sales, payroll, and employment. It also will yield a variety of industry-specific statistics, depreciable assets, selected purchased services, inventories, and capital expenditures, value of shipments/receipts/revenue/sales by product line as defined by the North American Product Classification System (NAPCS), size of establishments, and other industry-specific measures.
The 2022 Economic Census will cover the following NAICS sectors of the U.S. economy:
Agriculture
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction
Utilities
Construction
Manufacturing
Wholesale Trade
Retail Trade
Transportation and Warehousing
Information
Finance and Insurance
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
Management of Companies and Enterprises
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services
Educational Services
Health Care and Social Assistance
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
Accommodation and Food Services
Other Services (except Public Administration).
The 2022 Economic Census will produce basic statistics by industry for the number of establishments, value of shipments/receipts/revenue/sales, payroll, and employment. It also will yield a variety of industry-specific statistics, including expenses, depreciable assets, selected purchased services, inventories, and capital expenditures, value of shipments/receipts/revenue/sales by product line as defined by the North American Product Classification System (NAPCS), type of operation, size of establishments, and other industry-specific measures.
The Economic Census is the primary source of information about the structure and functioning of the economies of the Nation and each Island Area and features the only recognized source of data at a geographic level similar to U.S. counties. Economic census statistics serve as part of the framework for the national accounts and provides essential information for government, business, and the general public. The Federal Government, governments of the Island Areas, Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics rely on the economic census as an important part of the framework for their income and product accounts, input-output tables, economic indices, and other composite measures that serve as the basis for economic policymaking, planning, and program administration.
Further, the Economic Census provides sampling frames and benchmarks for current business surveys which track short-term economic trends, serve as economic indicators, and contribute critical source data for current estimates of gross domestic product. State and local governments rely on the economic census as a unique source of comprehensive economic statistics for small geographic areas for use in policy-making, planning, and program administration. Finally, industry, business, academia, and the general public use information from the economic census for evaluating markets, preparing business plans, making business decisions, developing economic models and forecasts, conducting economic research, and establishing benchmarks for their own sample surveys.
2022 Economic Census proposal to OMB:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202202-0607-010 Click IC List for survey instruments, View Supporting Statement for technical documentation. Submit comments through this site.
Draft 2022 Economic Census surveys by sector:
https://bhs.econ.census.gov/ombpdfs2022/
Summary of Changes to Standard, Consolidated, and Classification Questionnaires
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/DownloadDocument?objectID=119086400
FR notice inviting comments:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2022-04352
For AEA members wishing to submit comments to OMB, the AEA Committee on Economic Statistics offers "A Primer on How to Respond to Calls for Comment on Federal Data Collections" at
https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=5806