SEPT. 19, 2019 — Today, the U.S. Census Bureau released First Look estimates from the 2017 Economic Census. The Economic Census provides the most comprehensive and detailed statistics on employer businesses available, and serves as the benchmark for nearly every business survey conducted by the Census Bureau.
The 2017 Economic Census is one of the first Census Bureau programs publishing data on the new 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) basis. While most codes are unchanged from the 2012 NAICS, there were a few industries whose code changed, as well as some industry consolidations and other changes. The 4,374 establishments in the new Research and Development in Nanotechnology industry (NAICS 541713) reported 171,666 employees and $42.0 billion in total revenue.
In 2017, the number of businesses with paid employees increased to nearly 7.6 million, surpassing the 7.1 million establishments in 2012 and the 7.4 million establishments in 2007. These establishments employed over 127.0 million employees with an annual payroll of $6.5 trillion.
“The 2017 Economic Census First Look estimates provide an in-depth look at the economy as a whole,” said Nick Orsini, associate director of Economic Programs at the U.S. Census Bureau. “Future releases will provide data for local geographies including states, counties, metro areas and cities/towns.”
The Economic Census provides detailed data for nearly every 2- through 6-digit NAICS code. While this first look provides data at the national-level, later releases, starting in January 2020, will provide local area data. The preliminary national-level data will be superseded by the national-level data released in later reports.
For more information on the industries covered (and not covered) by the Economic Census, see Coverage. To review the geographic area changes that will be reflected in local area tables, see Economic Census Geographies. Later data will also be presented by legal form of organization, business size and other detailed dimensions.
The 2017 Economic Census will be one of the first Census Bureau programs released on the new dissemination platform — data.census.gov. To learn more about this platform and our other data tools and programs, visit Census Academy. This site includes recorded webinars on these tools and programs, including one on Transitioning to data.census.gov. To view a release schedule for these 2017 Economic Census data products, see the Release Schedule.
All dollar values are expressed in current dollars, i.e., they are not adjusted for price changes. The data presented in the 2017 Economic Census First Look estimates will be superseded by data released in later 2017 Economic Census releases. For further information about Economic Census methodology and data limitations, see Methodology.
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