The economic census nearly came to an end in the 1950s as a result of constrained budgets. The Eisenhower Administration appropriated funding in 1952 and 1953 to plan and prepare for the economic census in 1954, however, it did not provide funds in 1954 to actually take the census.

The termination of the economic census provoked considerable alarm in many government agencies and in business and academic communities. In response to complaints about the census' cancellation, the Secretary of Commerce Charles Sinclair Weeks appointed a number of academicians, business executives, economists, and other specialists not affiliated with the U.S. Census Bureau to an investigative commission chaired by Dr. Ralph J. Watkins, director of research for Dun and Bradstreet, Inc.

The "Watkins Commission" reviewed the economic census and its benefits and, in February 1954, published its report strongly recommending its resumption.

In response to the Watkins Commission's recommendations, the Congress enacted Public Law 83-411 in June 1954, providing for the censuses of manufacturing, mineral industries, and other businesses (including the distributive trades and service establishments) in the year 1955 relating to the year 1954.

During the 1810 census, U.S. Marshals collecting the population data also asked the first questions of manufacturing establishments. Questions that measured the nation's economy would continue to be asked at the time of the decennial census until 1905, when the U.S. Census Bureau conducted a separate census of manufactures.

Puerto Rico was first enumerated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the U.S. War Department in 1899. Puerto Rico has been included as part of the decennial census since 1910. The Census Bureau conducted the first economic census in Puerto Rico in 1909. For more information about the censuses in Puerto Rico and other U.S. Territories, visit the Island Areas Web page.

Currently, the economic census is conducted during years ending in "2" and "7." The most recent economic census was conducted in 2022. The next is scheduled for 2027.

The Census Bureau first used the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) during the economic census in 1997. For more information about NAICS, visit the Classifying Businesses Web page.

The 1905 Census of Manufactures marked the first time a census of any kind was taken separately from the decennial census.