The BDS is based on the same basic source data as the Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns (CBP) program.  In terms of comparisons of the BDS data with CBP, while as noted the two programs are based on the same basic source data, differences in how the source data are processed lead to differences in the published statistics. The creation of the BDS tables is sourced from the LBD program, and LBD processing involves many edits and updates that are done for longitudinal consistency that are not done for CBP.  For example, the LBD uses name and address matching to eliminate duplicates and also uses algorithms to identify and clean up incorrect data entries in the employment series. In addition, each series imposes its own set of restrictions and edits on the universe of active establishments.

Despite these differences, however, the BDS tracks the CBP quite closely.  Figure 1 compares total employment for the CBP and BDS series.  The two series are clearly highly correlated. In addition, Figure 2 below compares net job creation rates for the CBP and BDS. These two series also track each other well, although to a lesser extent than the employment data.