1992 CENSUS OF CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES

Introduction

General

The 1992 Census of Construction Industries covers all employer establishments (establishments with payroll) primarily engaged in contract construction or construction on their own account for sale as defined in the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual. This industrial classification system has been developed by experts on classification in government and private industry under the guidance of the Office of Management and Budget and is in general use among government agencies and among organizations outside the government.

Each establishment receiving a questionnaire was requested to report the percent of total dollar value of business done for each kind-of-business activity engaged in during 1992. This information was used for the computer assignment of appropriate industry classifications. During this work, various tests were also made using other data reported on the questionnaire. The proportion of construction work to total business was checked to verify that the establishment was primarily in construction. Also taken into consideration were the types of structures worked on during the year and the extent of work undertaken for other contractors.

Construction establishments often engage in various construction activities. It is necessary, however, to assign a single industry code to the establishment based on its major activity. Therefore, the statistics shown for an industry reflect not only the primary activity of the establishments in the industry, but also their secondary activities. The industry reports, however, do present data on the extent of secondary activities.

Prior to 1992, this census also included one industry classified in the Real Estate area, SIC 6552, Land Subdividers and Developers, Except Cemeteries. This industry is covered in the 1992 Census of Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate Industries.

Comparability of Census of Construction Industries data with other data

Data contained in the reports of the 1992 Census of Construction Industries are not the same as the data published in the Census Bureau's monthly Construction Reports, Series C30, Value of New Construction Put in Place. The main difference is that the C30 series covers all new construction put in place without regard to who is performing the construction activity; whereas the construction census figures cover both new construction and maintenance and repair work done by establishments classified in the construction industry. Significant amounts of construction are done by establishments classified outside of construction (in real estate, manufacturing, utilities and communications, for example), both as "force account" construction and construction done for others. In addition, the value in place series includes construction-related expenses such as architectural and engineering costs and the costs of materials supplied by owners which are normally not reflected in the census of construction industries.

Data contained in the reports of the census of construction industries may also differ from industry data in "Employment and Earnings Statistics," published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and "Statistics of Income," published by the Internal Revenue Service. These differences arise from varying definitions of scope, coverage, timing, classification, and methodology.