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Information for Respondents

The collection period for the 2022 Economic Census is now closed.

Overview

The Economic Census is the U.S. Government's official five-year measure of American business and the economy. It is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, and response is required by law. 

The Economic Census began on October 24, 2022 (due December 6, 2022), with a request for classification information from selected small businesses. On January 31, 2023 (due March 15, 2023), a request was made to additional selected companies asking a range of operational and performance data for their companies.

Response is entirely paperless and instructions to access the electronic instrument for the 2022 Economic Census was mailed to selected businesses. The Economic Census was sent to nearly 4.2 million businesses, including large, medium, and small companies covering most industries and geographic areas of the U.S. and Island Areas.

For questions or additional information, go to Contact Us.

Respondent Materials

Click the link for Preview Survey Questions and Instructions, then click the appropriate PDF and instructions.

(All files are in Adobe PDF format and are for informational purposes only)

Preview Survey Questions and Instructions

Primary Business or Activity Codes and Descriptions (Item 4/4A)

The Primary Business or Activity (PBA) codes can be used for the Item 4/4A response in the spreadsheet template downloaded from the online reporting instrument.

Product Codes and Descriptions (Item 22)

The product codes are based on the North American Product Classification System (NAPCS) and can be used for adding products in the Item 22 response in the spreadsheet template downloaded from the online reporting instrument.

Concordance of 2017 to 2022 NAPCS-Based Codes

The concordance (mapping) of 2017 to 2022 NAPCS-Based (North American Product Classification System) Collection Code Structure, which are used in Item 22, Detail of Sales, Shipments, Receipts, or Revenue, can be found here:

Economic Census Main Mailing Letters:

Authority

Title 13, United States Code, Sections 131, 182, 191, 224, and 225, authorizes this collection and requires businesses and other organizations included in the survey to answer the questions and submit a response.

Confidentiality

Title 13, United States Code, Section 9, requires the Census Bureau to keep your information CONFIDENTIAL and can use your responses only to produce statistics.  

The Census Bureau is not permitted to publicly release your responses in a way that could identify your business, organization, or institution. Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, your data are protected from cybersecurity risks through screening of the systems that transmit your data.  

Survey Legitimacy

Below are a few common items you can use to verify the legitimacy of this survey:

  1. Ensure the Web address provided in the letter or email is a "census.gov" domain.
  2. Correspondence sent in the form of a letter will contain reporting instructions and a phone number for survey assistance. Any email correspondence related to this survey will come from a census.gov address.
  3. On the sign-in screen, a warning message should be present stating the respondent is accessing a U.S. Government computer.
  4. After clicking on the “Report Now” button in the Respondent Portal, the OMB Number and OMB Approval Expiration information will appear in the upper right on all screens of the electronic reporting instrument. The bottom of the screen should have a link for the “Burden Statement” which also contains the OMB eight-digit number.

Page Last Revised - March 21, 2024
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