Appendix B

Surveys Covered in this Report

This appendix provides brief descriptions of the 11 surveys covered in this report. They are listed as in Box 1-2 in Chapter 1, by sector. We briefly cover the scope of each survey, its operation, and its major users.

ANNUAL SURVEY OF MANUFACTURES

The ASM is a sample survey of approximately 50,000 establishments with one or more paid employees and of nonemployers that use leased employees for manufacturing as classified in North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Sector 31-33 (manufacturing). The economic census¹ manufacturing sector is the universe from which the ASM sample frame is selected and provides more detailed statistics. The ASM is conducted annually, except for years ending in 2 and 7, when ASM statistics are included in the manufacturing sector of the economic census. The ASM provides statistics on employment, payroll, worker hours, payroll supplements, cost of materials, selected operating expenses, value added by manufacturing, capital expenditures, inventories, and energy consumption. It also provides estimates of value of shipments for 1,384 classes of manufactured products.

The ASM provides the best measure of current U.S. manufacturing industry outputs, inputs, and operating status, and it is the primary basis for updates of the Longitudinal Research Database.² Census Bureau staff and academic researchers with sworn agent status use the Longitudinal Research Database for microdata analysis.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) uses ASM data to prepare annual updates of the gross national product (GNP), the GNP weight deflators, and the annual input-output tables. BEA also uses ASM data for the private inventories, producer’s equipment, and software components of the gross domestic product (GDP). The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) uses ASM data to calculate annual productivity series, update producer price indexes, and calculate weights when new components are added. The Federal Reserve Board uses ASM data to prepare the Index of Industrial Production. Other users include the International Trade Administration, to design and evaluate the export development program and to evaluate and forecast future industrial activity. The Census Bureau uses the data to benchmark current data on manufacturing shipments and inventories. State and local agencies use ASM data for economic policy making and forecasting.

The initial 2014 sample was selected using a sample frame based on information from the manufacturing portion of the 2012 economic census, which included records for approximately 297,000 active manufacturing establishments. Approximately 15,600 establishments were selected with certainty based on ad hoc criteria designed to ensure the inclusion of specified establishment groups in the sample. The remaining establishments were

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¹ See https://www.census.gov/EconomicCensus [September 2017].

² See https://www.census.gov/econ/overview/ma0800.html [September 2017].

selected with probability proportional to a composite measure of establishment size. The initial 2014 sample was supplemented with records for new manufacturing establishments that were not included in the 2012 economic census but were identified on the Census Bureau’s Business Register for the 2013 processing year. The ASM sample is updated annually from two sources that are input to the Business Register: administrative records from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are used to identify new single-establishment manufacturers, and the COS is used to identify new manufacturing establishments of multi-establishment companies. Since January 2016 the Census Bureau has collected the ASM data primarily through electronic reporting.

Data from the survey are available on the ASM website, see https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/asm/data/tables.html [October 2017] with a targeted release date of 12 months from the end of the reference period. There are four principal publications:

1. Statistics for Industry Groups and Industries: displays statistics at the 2- though 6-digit NAICS levels and for total manufacturing.
2. Value of Products Shipments: displays statistics by 6-digit NAICS and 7-digit NAICS-based product class levels.
3. Geographic Area Statistics: Statistics for All Manufacturing by State: displays data for each state by selected 3- and 4-digit NAICS levels.
4. Geographic Area Statistics: Supplemental Statistics for the United States and States: displays data for each state at the 2-digit NAICS level.

For more information, see: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/asm.html [January 2018].

MANUFACTURERS’ UNFILLED ORDERS SURVEY

The M3UFO is a company-based survey that collects shipments and unfilled orders data for 42 manufacturers’ shipments, inventories, and orders survey industry categories that are believed to have unfilled orders. Eight of these industry categories are each broken into two categories, a defense component and a nondefense component, based on the relative sizes of the corresponding manufacturers’ shipments, inventories, and orders survey estimates. Therefore, unfilled orders estimates are actually produced for 50 manufacturers’ shipments, inventories, and orders survey industry categories, which cover the following major manufacturing groups:

• primary metals
• fabricated metal products

• machinery
• computers and electronic products
• electrical equipment, appliances, and components
• transportation equipment
• furniture and related products
• miscellaneous products

The M3UFO has been conducted annually by the U.S. Census Bureau since 2010 using a probability sample of roughly 6,000 companies, and it is updated annually to reflect newly identified companies. The initial sample frame represented about 210,000 manufacturing establishments located in the United States and classified in the selected manufacturers’ shipments, inventories, and orders survey industry categories.

The M3UFO data are used to benchmark unfilled orders from information published in the monthly manufacturers’ shipments, inventories, and orders survey, which is an economic indicator survey based on a panel of domestic manufacturers. The collected annual sales data are used to analyze differences in reporting between the company-based survey and plant-level data from the ASM, the source of benchmark data for the monthly shipments and inventory data.

The BEA, the Federal Reserve Board, the Department of the Treasury, the Council of Economic Advisers, corporate economists, trade associations, news media, academia, investment consultants, and researchers use the M3UFO data for analysis and forecasting of future economic conditions.

The M3UFO data are collected by an Internet-based survey form. The data are collected and tabulated predominantly by 6-digit NAICS levels.

For more information, see: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/m3ufo.html [January 2018].

MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL PRACTICES SURVEY

The MOPS is a supplement to the ASM that began as a pilot in 2010. Pending funding, it will continue as an ASM supplement every 5 years. This survey will utilize the ASM survey panel collecting information on management and organizational practices at the establishment level. The U.S. Census Bureau conducts the MOPS to better understand current and evolving management and organizational practices and to assist in identifying determinants of establishment and productivity growth. Understanding the drivers of productivity growth is essential to understanding the dynamics of the U.S. economy and the management of firms’ plays a central role in that understanding.

The MOPS statistics are collected from the ASM mail panel only. The ASM mail portion of the survey is comprised of a probability sample of approximately 50,000 manufacturing establishments from a universe

of approximately 297,000 establishments. The MOPS provides information on the dimensions of organizational capital for NAICS Sector 31-33 (manufacturing).

MOPS results are disseminated by a press release accompanied by summary level tables. Policy makers in such organizations as the Federal Reserve Board and the World Bank use the MOPS to understand the levels and evolution of management practices over time and to forecast future productivity growth.

For more information, see https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/mops.html [January 2018].

ANNUAL RETAIL TRADE SURVEY

The ARTS has been conducted since 1952 to produce national estimates of total annual sales, e-commerce sales, end-of-year inventories, purchases, total operating expenses, inventories held outside the United States, gross margins, and end-of-year accounts receivable for retail businesses and annual sales and e-commerce sales for accommodation and food service firms located in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Estimates are summarized by NAICS industry classification; they are released approximately 15 months after the reference year. Firms without paid employees, or nonemployers, are included in the estimates through imputation or administrative data provided by other federal agencies.

The ARTS sample covers employer businesses classified in retail trade sector and accommodation and food services sector located in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The ARTS excludes data for businesses located in the U.S. territories. Firms without paid employees, or nonemployers, are included in the estimates through imputation or administrative data provided by other federal agencies. The sampling frame used for the ARTS has two types of sampling units: EIN establishments and large, multi-establishment firms. Both sampling units represent clusters of one or more establishments owned or controlled by the same firm. The information used to create these sampling units was extracted from data collected as part of the 2007 economic census and from establishment records contained on the Census Bureau’s Business Register as updated to December 2010. This sample is designed to produce estimates based on the 2007 NAICS.

The first step in the sample selection identifies firms selected with certainty, which covers firms with specified cutoffs for annual sales or end-of-year inventories. All firms not selected with certainty are subjected to sampling on an EIN basis. If a firm has more than one EIN establishment each is treated as a separate sampling unit. To be eligible for the initial sampling for this part of ARTS, an EIN establishment had to have nonzero payroll in 2009. The EIN establishments were stratified according to their

major industry and their estimated sales (on a 2007 basis). Within each non-certainty stratum, a simple random sample of EIN establishments was selected without replacement. The selected non-certainty establishments were divided into two approximately equal groups: one group is canvassed for both the monthly and the annual survey; the other group is canvassed for only the annual survey.

The sample is updated quarterly to reflect employer business births” and “deaths: adding new employer businesses identified in the Business and Professional Classification Survey (see below) and deleting firms and EIN establishments when it is determined they are no longer active. There is about a 9-month delay before new firms can be represented in the sample.

For the 2012 and prior ARTS data collection, the Census Bureau used mail out/mail back survey forms to collect data. Since the 2013 ARTS, the Census Bureau has collected data primarily through electronic reporting.

The ARTS data are widely used throughout government, academic, and business communities. The Census Bureau uses ARTS to benchmark for estimates produced from the Monthly Retail Trade Survey. The BEA uses the estimates to derive industry output for the input-output accounts and for the GDP. BLS uses the data as input to its producer price index and in developing productivity measurements. The Federal Reserve Board uses ARTS accounts receivable data in monitoring retail credit lending and for measuring consumer credit. Private businesses use the ARTS data in computing business activity indexes and market share. The BEA uses the data as input to its annual July GDP revision. Other government agencies and businesses use the information for market research, product development, and business planning to gauge the current trends and direction of the economy.

The ARTS estimates are released approximately 15 months after the reference year and are summarized by NAICS industry classifications. The estimates are used to benchmark the monthly retail sales and inventories estimates each spring, and are published in the Annual Revision for Monthly Retail and Food Services Sales.

For more information, see https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/arts/about.html [January 2018].

ANNUAL WHOLESALE TRADE SURVEY

The AWTS, which has been conducted annually since 1978, provides detailed industry measures of annual sales, e-commerce sales, year-end inventories held both inside and outside the United States, method of inventory valuation, total purchases of products, and total operating expenses for wholesale trade activities, as well as gross selling value and commissions for wholesale agent and brokers. The data collection period is approximately 30 days, from mid-March to mid-April. The data, how-

ever, are collected throughout the calendar year. The U.S. Code Title 13 authorizes this survey and provides for mandatory responses.

Merchant wholesalers provide estimates on annual sales, e-commerce sales, year-end inventories held both inside and outside the United States, method of inventory valuation, total purchases of products, and total operating expenses. Estimates for wholesale manufacturers’ sales branches and offices were introduced in 2003 and provide all the same estimates as merchants with the exception of purchases. The AWTS began collecting sales, gross selling value, commissions, and operating expenses data for agents, brokers, and electronic markets in 2005.

The AWTS is sent to a sample of companies with employment that are primarily engaged in merchant wholesale trade in the United States. The companies include merchant wholesalers that take title of the goods they sell, jobbers, industrial distributors, exporters and importers, manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, agents, merchandise or commodity brokers, and commission merchants. A sample of approximately 8,000 wholesale businesses is drawn from the Business Register, which contains all Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) and listed establishment locations: 2,732 of those are certainties, and 6,444 are EINs. Being a certainty and being an EIN are not mutually exclusive. The current sample is about 28 percent multi-unit companies and about 72 percent of single-unit companies.

The sample for AWTS consists of three separate samples: (1) a sample of merchant wholesalers, manufacturers’ sales branches, and offices; (2) a sample of manufacturers’ sales branches and offices; and (3) a sample of wholesale electronic markets and agents and brokers. The AWTS uses a stratified, one-stage design with primary strata defined by industry (e.g., motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts, furniture and home furnishings, grocery, etc.). Firms are first stratified by major kind of business and estimated sales. All firms with sales above specified size cutoffs are selected into the survey and report for all their wholesale industry EINs. In a second stage, unselected EINs are stratified by major kinds of business and sales and randomly selected from each strata. There are 61 primary strata: 42 from the merchant wholesale sample, 17 from the manufacturers’ sales branches and offices sample, and 2 from the agents and brokers’ sample. The primary strata are substratified into 4, 7, 10, or 13 annual sales size strata. The largest sales size stratum within each industry stratum consists of companies that are selected with certainty (sampling weight equal to 1).

The sample is updated quarterly to reflect employer business “births” and “deaths”: adding new employer businesses identified in the SQ-CLASS (see below) and deleting firms and EINs when it is determined they are no longer active. There is about a 9-month delay before new firms can be represented in the sample. To account for births during this interim period, data are imputed for all EINs that go out of business but are still active on

the IRS mailing list. The sample is revised every 5–6 years to update the non-certainty companies.

The BEA uses the AWTS data as an input to estimate the GDP sales and inventories. The Council of Economic Advisers uses the estimates for assessing near-term economic activity. The Department of the Treasury uses the data for research on economic trends. In addition, business and industry groups use the estimates to forecast future demand, and researchers use the estimates to benchmark the results from their own sampling operations. Manufacturers can use inventory estimates as a proxy for the distributor’s confidence for future expected sales.

Estimates are released in the first quarter of each year. These estimates are benchmarked to the most recent economic census of wholesale trade.

For more information, see https://bhs.econ.census.gov/bhs/awts/about.html [January 2018].

SERVICE ANNUAL SURVEY

The SAS provides national estimates of revenue, sources of revenue, and e-commerce revenue, as well as total and detail expenses, by product and class of customer. For selected industries, it also covers export revenue for end-of-year inventories and revenue by product and class of customers. U.S. Code Title 13 authorizes the survey and provides for mandatory responses.

The SAS is a survey of approximately 72,000 selected service businesses with paid employees; supplemented by administrative records data or imputed values to account for nonemployer and certain other businesses. To be eligible for the list sample, service businesses must be in the Business Register List, which contains all EINs for listed businesses and all locations of multi-establishment companies. An EIN may represent one or more establishments, and firms may have one or more EIN establishments.

The SAS covers portions or all of the industries in the following NAICS sectors:

• utilities (22)
• transportation and warehousing (48-49)
• information services (51)
• finance and insurance (52)
• real estate and rental and leasing (53)
• professional, scientific, and technical services (54)
• administrative and support, waste management and remediation services (56)
• educational services (61)
• health care and social assistance (62)

• art, entertainment, and recreation (71)
• accommodation and food services (72)
• other services (except public administration) (81)

Collected data include operating revenue for both taxable and tax-exempt firms and organizations; sources of revenue and expenses by type for selected industries; operating expenses for tax-exempt firms; and selected industry-specific items. In addition, starting with the 1999 survey, e-commerce data were collected for all industries, and export and inventory data were collected for selected industries.

SAS data are used by the BEA in its preparation of national income and product accounts and its benchmark and annual input-output tables. The BLS uses the data as input to its producer price indexes and in developing productivity measurements. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services use the data to estimate expenditures for the National Health Accounts.

The Coalition of Service Industries uses the data for general research and planning. Other trade and professional organizations use the estimates to analyze industry trends and benchmark their own statistical programs, develop forecasts, and evaluate regulatory requirements. The media use estimates for news reports and background information. Private businesses use the estimates to measure market share; analyze business potential; and plan investment decisions. The SAS provides the only source of annual receipts estimates for the service industries.

Data collection begins in January following the survey year. Reported data are for activities that take place during the calendar year. Prior to 1982, the survey was conducted monthly; since then it has been conducted annually. A new sample is introduced roughly every 5 to 7 years.

In the initial sampling, companies are stratified by major and minor kind of business and by estimated receipts or revenue. All companies with total receipts above specified cutoffs are included in the survey and report for all their service industry locations. In a second stage, EINs of unselected companies are stratified by major kind of business and receipts or revenue. Within each stratum a simple random sample of EIN establishments is selected.

The initial sample is updated quarterly to reflect births and deaths, adding new employer businesses identified in the SQ-CLASS, and dropping firms and EIN establishments that are no longer active. During interim periods, nonemployer service establishments and other businesses are represented by administrative records data or imputed values.

The SAS is normally published no later than 13 months after the end of the reporting year. Summary data (total revenue and total expenses) are provided at the sector, subsector, and industry group level for the survey

year and past years. Detailed expense data are published for select sectors and subsectors. Industry specific data, such as product line and detailed revenue (source of funding), are provided for selected industries. In addition, there are data for selected kinds of business by federal income-tax status (taxable and tax-exempt).

For more information, see https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/sas/about.html [January 2018].

ANNUAL CAPITAL EXPENDITURES SURVEY

The ACES provides data on capital spending for new and used structures and equipment by U.S. nonfarm businesses with and without employees. U.S. Code Title 13 authorizes this survey and makes responding mandatory; it also protects the confidentiality of respondents and the data they provide.

Data have been collected annually beginning with data for 1994. In addition, every 5 years, detailed data by types of structures and types of equipment have been collected from companies with employees. These additional data used to be collected in years ending in 3 and 8, but since 2013 they are collected in years ending in 2 and 7 to align with the years in which the economic census is conducted.

Larger companies are selected each year from the updated Business Register. The Business Register establishment-level data are consolidated to create company information for sampling purposes. The ACES includes all domestic, private, nonfarm businesses, including agricultural nonfarm (NAICS Subsectors 113, 114, and 115) including nonemployer businesses. Major exclusions are foreign operations of U.S. businesses, businesses in U.S. territories, government operations (including the U.S. Postal Service), agricultural production companies, and private households.

All companies with at least 500 paid employees are included in the survey; smaller companies with employees are stratified by industry and payroll size and selected randomly by strata. Companies without employees are selected randomly without regard to industry classification.

For the 2012 and prior ACES data collection, the Census Bureau used mail out/mail back survey forms to collect data. For the 2013 ACES, the Census Bureau collected data from employer companies primarily through electronic reporting and continued to use mail out/mail back survey forms to collect data from nonemployer companies. For the 2014 ACES, data were collected from both employer and nonemployer companies primarily through electronic reporting. Beginning with the 2015 ACES, the Census Bureau collected data from all companies solely through electronic reporting.

Published data are weighted totals for all covered businesses, adjusted for companies that do not respond, and accompanied by standard error information.

The ACES reports provide capital expenditures data about 12 months after each reference year. The reports provide statistics on capital expenditures for new and used structures and equipment in all ACES industry categories. In addition, they summarize findings, describe survey background and concepts, and explain sample and estimation methods.

Data on the amount of business expenditures for new plant and equipment and measures of the stock of existing facilities are critical to evaluate productivity growth, the ability of U.S. business to compete with foreign business, changes in industrial capacity, and measures of overall economic performance. In addition, ACES data provide industry analysts with capital expenditure data for market analysis, economic forecasting, identifying business opportunities, and developing new and strategic plans.

These statistics are also an important input for federal agencies constructing composite national economic measures, such as the BEA’s estimates of private-fixed investments, a major component of GDP; the BLS’s estimates of capital stocks for productivity analysis; and the Federal Reserve Board’s Flow of Funds accounts. Industry analysts and businesses use these data for market analysis, economic forecasting, product development, and business planning.

For more information, see https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/aces.html [January 2018].

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY SURVEY

The ICTS, which is currently suspended, was supplemental to the ACES. It collected data on noncapitalized and capitalized business spending for information and communication technology equipment and computer software. Data had been collected annually beginning with data for 2003. The ICTS was suspended in May 2013 for survey year 2012 due to budget constraints. The program was reinstated in January 2014, and estimates were available for survey year 2013. To operate within funding levels provided for fiscal 2015, the Census Bureau suspended the 2014 ICTS, and it remains suspended. U.S. Code Title 13 authorizes this survey and provides for mandatory responses. It also protects the confidentiality of respondents and the data they provide. For the 2013 survey year, the Census Bureau collected data primarily through electronic reporting.

The ICTS sample consisted of approximately 46,000 companies with one or more employees. Larger companies were selected each year from the updated Business Register; all companies with at least 500 paid employees were included in the survey; smaller companies with employees were stratified by industry and payroll size and selected randomly by strata.

The ICTS collected industry-level data for two equipment categories of noncapitalized expenses (purchases and operating leases/rental payments)

and two software categories of noncapitalized expenses (purchases and licensing and software service/maintenance agreements). In addition to noncapitalized expenses, the ICTS also collected data for capital expenditures of equipment and software.

All domestic, private, nonfarm business, including agricultural nonfarm (NAICS Subsectors 113, 114, and 115) businesses were included in ICTS. Major exclusions were foreign operations of U.S. businesses, businesses in U.S. territories, government operations (including the U.S. Postal Service), agricultural production companies, and private households. All businesses falling in the remaining sectors were covered.

BEA, BLS, the Federal Reserve Board, and industry analysts used ICTS data to evaluate future productivity and economic growth prospects. In addition, the survey provided improved source data for BEA’s investment component of GDP and estimates of capital stock and capital flow, and it permitted the reconciliation of important differences between reported production and consumption of technology. In addition, industry analysts and businesses used the ICTS data for market analysis, economic forecasting, product development, and business planning.

The ICTS reports provided survey results about 13 months after each reference year. The reports included statistics on the aggregate and sector-level noncapitalized expenses, by type of expenditure. In addition, they summarized findings, described survey background and concepts, and explained sample and estimation methods.

For more information, see https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/icts.html [October 2017].

ANNUAL SURVEY OF ENTREPRENEURS

The ASE is a supplement to the Survey of Business Owners (SBO) that collects economic and demographic information every 5 years and categorizes the business ownership by the gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status of the majority owners.³ The ASE provides information on selected economic and demographic characteristics for businesses and business owners by gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status. U.S. Code Title 13 authorizes this survey and provides for mandatory responses.

The ASE is conducted on an annual basis for three reference years (e.g., 2014, 2015, and 2016).⁴ It introduces a new module of questions each sur-

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³ The SBO is not covered in this report because it is not an annual survey. The data are collected every five years as part of the economic census. For more information about SBO, see https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/sbo.html [October 2017].

⁴ The Census Bureau, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, and the Minority Business Development Agency have teamed together to conduct the ASE.

vey year to measure different components of business growth. The module selected for the 2014 ASE focused on business innovation and research and development (R&D) activity: the goal was to identify new forms of innovation, identify characteristics of businesses that are innovators, and measure R&D activity conducted by entrepreneurs. The module selected for the 2015 ASE focused on business management practices: the goal was to measure how management practices impact productivity and growth. The module selected for the 2016 ASE focused on business advice and planning, and it also included additional questions on business financing relationships, owner demographics, and regulations.

The ASE includes all nonfarm businesses that file IRS tax forms as individual proprietorships, partnerships, or any type of corporation and with receipts of $1,000 or more, and it covers firms with paid employees. The ASE is conducted on a company or firm basis rather than an establishment basis.

The data are compiled by combining data collected from businesses and business owners in the ASE with data collected from the economic census and administrative records. Business ownership is defined as having 51 percent or more of the stock or equity in the business and is categorized by:

• gender: male; female; or equally male and female
• ethnicity: Hispanic; equally Hispanic and non-Hispanic; non-Hispanic
• race: white; black or African American; American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; some other race; minority; equally minority and nonminority; nonminority
• veteran status: veteran; equally veteran and nonveteran; nonveteran
• publicly held and other firms not classifiable by gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status

The ASE data collection is electronic only and samples approximately 290,000 employer businesses in operation anytime during the survey year. Those selected for the survey receive an initial letter informing respondents of their requirement to complete the survey as well as instructions on accessing the survey.

A wide range of government program officials, industry organization leaders, economic and social analysts, researchers, and business entrepreneurs use ASE statistics. The Small Business Administration and the Minority Business Development Agency use the data to assess business assistance needs and allocate available program resources. More broadly, local government commissions on small and disadvantaged businesses use ASE data to establish and evaluate contract procurement practices, and federal, state, and local government agencies use them as a framework for

planning, directing, and assessing programs that promote the activities of disadvantaged groups, as well as to assess the competitiveness of businesses by ownership characteristics.

A national women-owned business trade association uses the data to assess women-owned businesses by industry and area and to educate other industry associations, corporations, and government entities. Consultants and researchers use ASE data to analyze long-term economic and demographic shifts and differences in ownership and performance among geographic areas. And individual business owners use the data to analyze their operations in comparison with similar firms, compute their market share, and assess their growth and future prospects. In general, researchers and businesses use the ASE to understand the innovation or research and development activities conducted by entrepreneurs.

ASE estimates include the number of firms, sales and receipts, annual payroll, and employment by gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status for employer businesses. Data are presented by business and business owner characteristics by demographic category. Estimates are available by industry for the United States, states, and the top 50 metropolitan statistical areas. The unique design of the ASE allows for flexible content, measuring a new relevant economic topic each survey year. Additionally, the ASE produces estimates by the number of years a firm has been in business, providing data on the nature of young businesses in comparison with established businesses.

Although the ASE supplements the SBO, there are significant differences between the two programs that affect comparability. Conducting the ASE allows for a more frequent collection of economic and demographic characteristics data. The ASE has a smaller sample size focused on employer businesses and is designed to measure the number of years a firm has been in business, while the SBO has a much larger sample size designed to provide more geographic and industry detail. The SBO uses data collected from the economic census to produce estimates. However, the same detailed data are not available during non-economic-census years. As a result, the methods used to create estimates for the ASE differ from those of the SBO.

For more information, see https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ase.html [Ocotber 2017].

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL CLASSIFICATION SURVEY

The purpose of the SQ-CLASS is to update the sampling frame for the Census Bureau’s current business surveys. Additionally, establishments sampled during the 5-year economic census receive a data collection instrument specifically tailored to their industry based on the classification infor-

mation obtained by the SQ-CLASS. Therefore, assigning proper industry classification to these establishments is crucial.

This survey allows the Census Bureau to keep current with rapid changes in the marketplace caused by business births, deaths, and changes in company organization. The Census Bureau conducts this survey under the authority of U.S. Code Title 13 and is mandatory. Section 9 of Title 13 guarantees that your response is confidential and will only be used for statistical purposes.

This survey began as a monthly data collection in 1968, and it has been quarterly since 1976. A new sample is selected each quarter. The Census Bureau samples newly assigned EINs obtained from the IRS. Each EIN can only be selected once for the SQ-CLASS.

Firms or establishments with EINs that are newly assigned or recently reactivated by the IRS are in the scope for this survey and receive letters with instructions for completing the SQ-CLASS online. Data collected includes 2 months of sales or receipts, principle lines of merchandise, company organization, and NAICS code; wholesale inventories; and other industry-related data.

For more information, see https://bhs.econ.census.gov/bhs/sqclass/about.html [October 2017].

COMPANY ORGANIZATION SURVEY

The COS (formally the Report of Organization Survey), which has been conducted annually since 1974, is used to obtain current organization and operating information on multi-establishment firms to maintain the Business Register. The U.S. Code Title 13 authorizes this survey and provides for mandatory responses. The survey includes all companies with payroll and their establishments except companies engaged exclusively in agricultural production.

The COS is an annual mail-out survey of selected companies. Large multi-establishment companies with 500 or more employees are selected with certainty. Small multi-establishment and single-establishment companies are selected based on administrative data indicating a probable organizational change. All selected companies are identified from the Business Register.

The Census Bureau uses COS data to maintain up-to-date company affiliation, location, and operating information for establishments of multi-establishment companies in the Business Register. This information allows full coverage of companies that account for a disproportionately large share of business activity. The Business Register is integral to conducting, processing, and completing most Census Bureau surveys and censuses of U.S. business organizations. It provides the only direct source of informa-

tion on changes in multi-establishment company organization and industry classification at the establishment level.⁵

Companies identify establishments that have been sold, closed, continued, started, and acquired; report first-quarter and annual payroll, and employment during the pay period that included March 12 for each establishment; indicate any large foreign equity positions; and indicate controlling interests held by other domestic- or foreign-owned organizations.

The data collection begins in late December of the reference year and responses are due within 30 days. Reported data are for activities taking place during the reference year. Survey coverage and content vary during the 5-year program cycle of the economic census.

Forms include a list of establishments previously identified as owned by the company and space for the company to report additional establishments. Forms for single-establishment companies collect information on each location operated to determine if the companies actually have more than one establishment. Reports submitted by electronic methods have grown to cover some 40 percent of all surveyed establishments.

The COS is used primarily to assure full coverage and high quality of other statistical programs and does not routinely provide data products for public use. Survey results are available to the Census Bureau about 8 months after each reference year and are used throughout Census Bureau economic data program operations as a major source of information for County Business Patterns reports and as a resource in responding to requests for a variety of special reports and reimbursable tabulations.

For more information, see: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cos/about.html [January 2018].

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⁵ The results of the COS and the establishment-based ASM are combined with administrative records data in order to form a complete, updated Business Register. For years ending in 2 and 7 (census years), companies report only on basic company affiliation and operations of establishments not within the scope of the economic census. The Census Bureau uses COS survey data and other information contained in the Business Register to produce annual County Business Patterns reports. These reports provide summary statistics by state, county, some ZIP codes, and 6-digit NAICS levels, including number of establishments, payroll, and employment.