The 12th meeting of the International Roundtable on Business Survey Frames
Helsinki 28.9. - 2.10.1998
Session No.
1
Paper No.
16
Country: USA-BOC
Progress Report
Ed Walker
United States Bureau of the Census
Technology: Electronic Reporting
1.
The 1997 Economic Censuses (see the separate heading below for information
on other business register activities related to the censuses) greatly expanded the
Census Bureau’s use of electronic methods for collecting business statistics.
Computer self-administered questionnaires (CSAQs) on 3½-inch diskette
accounted for most of the growth, and new electronic respondents were
concentrated among mid-sized multi-establishment enterprises operating in
retail trade. Overall, electronic collection methods provided economic census
data for more than 260,000 establishments operated by some 550 multiunit
enterprises—nearly 20 percent of all multiunit establishments.
2.
The Census Bureau updated and redeveloped CSAQ instruments for the
1997 Economic Censuses. The new instruments have a graphical user interface
designed for the Microsoft Windows™ operating environment (earlier CSAQs
had character-based user interfaces designed for the MS-DOS environment).
Since the content of economic census questionnaires varies to fit particular
industries or industry groups, there are many industry-specific versions of the
CSAQ instruments, and the diskette(s) for a particular company may include one
or more of those versions. To facilitate preparation of the diskettes, we used an
automated process that obtained data definitions, question and instruction text,
graphical features, screen layout parameters, field edits, and similar attributes
from a repository of collection instrument metadata. We plan to extend this
updated CSAQ design and instrument production technology to the 1998
Company Organization Survey (a register proving survey), the 1998 Annual
Survey of Manufactures, and other collections.
Globalization
3.
Nothing to report.
Business Demography
4.
Nothing to report.
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Business Register Standards: Industrial Classification
5.
The Census Bureau’s economic programs are adopting the North American
Industry Classification System (NAICS) as their standard business taxonomy.
The transition started during 1997, when we sent classification inquiries to
215,000 establishments in Standard Industrial Classifications (SICs) that span
NAICS sectors. This was an important step in preparing for the 1997 Economic
Censuses, as it ensured that these establishments would receive a census
collection instrument with content appropriate for their NAICS sector.
6.
The 1997 Economic Censuses will complete collection of information needed to
convert the business register to NAICS and will publish NAICS-based industry
statistics. Starting with the 1998 Annual Survey of Manufactures and
continuing for a 2-3 year transition, we also will convert our annual, quarterly,
and monthly survey samples, collections, and statistical products to NAICS
classifications.
1997 Economic Censuses
7.
Since the meetings of the 11th Roundtable in Tokyo, the Census Bureau’s
business register has been extremely busy with support operations for the 1997
Economic Censuses. The register not only serves as the enumeration list for the
censuses but also provides centralized control of collection and processing.
Because they are the economic programs’ most comprehensive collections, the
censuses are a rich source of register updates.
8.
The economic censuses are an enumeration of establishments operated by
employer and nonemployer enterprises. Coverage of employers includes all
industries except agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting (NAICS 11, SIC
Division A); rail transportation (NAICS 482, SIC 40)1; certificated passenger
air transportation (NAICS 481111 part, SIC 4512 part); postal service
(NAICS 491, SIC 43); elementary and secondary schools (NAICS 6111, SIC
821); junior colleges (NAICS 6112, SIC 8222); colleges, universities, and
professional schools (NAICS 6113, SIC 8221); religious organizations
(NAICS 8131, SIC 866); labor unions and similar labor organizations
(NAICS 81393, SIC 863); political organizations (NAICS 81394, SIC 865);
private households (NAICS 814, SIC 88) and public administration (NAICS 92;
SIC Division J).2 Coverage of nonemployers has the exceptions noted above
and further excludes retail direct selling establishments (NAICS 4543,
SIC 5963) and tax-exempt (non-profit) institutions.
1
2
The Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service is conducting a separate
1997 Census of Agriculture for units classified in agriculture crop and animal production (NAICS
111,112; SIC 01,02) with the Census Bureau acting as collection agent. The frame for this census is
a separate mailing list of farms and ranches constructed from the final universe of the previous
agriculture census, administrative records, and other sources.
The Census Bureau is conducting a separate 1997 Census of Governments. The frame for this
collection is a separate Governments Integrated Directory.
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9.
The economic census enumeration uses a combination of direct collection and
administrative records, the latter serving as the exclusive source of data for most
single-establishment enterprises with 1-5 employees and for all enterprises with
no employees. Direct collections are done by means of paper questionnaire and
electronic instrument (further description of the censuses’ electronic collection
methods is given above under the “Technology” heading), both distributed and
returned by mail. The resulting data will represent an in-scope population of
more than 20 million establishments. The following table shows major
components of this population, associated enumeration methods, and response
rates for direct collections:
In-Scope Population (Millions)
Enterprises Establishments
All
Employers, total
Multi-establishment
Single-establishment
Nonemployers
19.3
5.3
.2
5.1
14.0
20.6
6.6
1.5
5.1
14.0
Enumeration Method
Direct Collection
Administrative
Records
(Millions)
Establishments Response Rate
(Millions)
(Percent)
5.0
—
15.6
5.0
86
1.6
1.5
88
—
3.5
85
1.6
—
—
14.0
10.
The Census Bureau prepared collection materials for the censuses beginning in
October 1997 and did the initial mailing during December 1997. We also did a
supplemental mailing during March for business births occurring after the first
quarter of 1997 (recorded by the business register after selection of the initial
mailing). Follow-up, data entry, and other initial processing require nearly 9
months, as larger multi-establishment enterprises need that much time to
complete a report for each of their establishments. We closed out these
operations on August 17, as scheduled, and are preparing the data for
preliminary tabulations, which we expect to produce shortly.
11.
Publications of census results will begin during the first quarter of 1999 with
release of an Advance Report series that features basic statistics for the Nation
summarized by NAICS industry group. Final Industry, Geographic Area, and
Subject Series reports will follow with more extensive and detailed statistical
content summarized for NAICS industries. Additionally, Comparative Statistics
reports will summarize 1997 census data for SIC industries with side-by-side
comparisons to 1992 census data, and Bridge Statistics reports will provide
information to aid users with the SIC-to-NAICS transition.
Business Register Redesign
12.
With completion of data collection and processing for the economic censuses,
we have a window of opportunity to redesign and modernize our business
register and other central elements of our economic programs infrastructure. We
are preparing a preliminary project plan for this work and expect to begin
requirements analysis during the next few weeks. The scope of this undertaking
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includes a fundamental re-examination of business register concepts, methods,
and, database design. Our goals include better integration among the register,
the economic censuses, and more frequent surveys; better management of
response burden; more complete and up-to-date register information on the
composition and organization of complex enterprises; development and use of a
statistical metadata repository; and deployment of other technological advances
in data collection/capture, processing, analysis, and dissemination.
Business Register Comparison and Evaluation
13.
The office of the Census Bureau’s Chief Economist will soon begin a
comparative evaluation of business registers maintained separately by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of the Census. Since these registers
are intended to represent parallel populations of United States business
establishments but do so based on independent administrative sources (the
State/Federal unemployment insurance system for the former and the Federal tax
system for the latter), collections, and procedures, the comparison should be
very informative about coverage, quality, timeliness, and other concerns. We
expect to learn a lot about the relative strengths of both registers and to identify
important opportunities for improvement based on the findings of this study.