Feb. 12 is Economic Census deadline

You only have until this Tuesday-February 12-to complete the federally mandated Economic Census.

The census is completely every 5 years to measure the strength of the economy and collect data that helps businesses make business market and industry comparisons.

Forms were mailed to more than 4 million businesses between October and December and include questions about operational and performance data for their companies.

Results of the census provide statistics for 18 industry sectors; all incorporated and unincorporated cities and towns with 2,500 or more inhabitants; and that number of locations, employment, payroll, total revenue, and product sales for every industry. The data included in the census provide businesses with tools that are deemed to be useful for creating business plans and making loan applications.

The last census, completed for 2007, revealed that general medical and surgical hospitals had more employees than any other industry with more than 5 million total. The industry with the next highest number of employees-full-service restaurants-employed about 4.6 million workers. It also showed that 95% of all businesses in the healthcare and social assistance sector were located in a metro area. Other highlights from the census in 2002 and 2007 reveal that the number of ambulatory care services increased 12% from 2002 to 2007, employment increased by almost 16%, and revenues increased by nearly 40%.

To see results from past editions of the census or learn more about the Economic Census, click here. To download forms or complete your census electronically, visit www.econhelp.census.gov.

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