2012 Economic Census

What's New for 2012?

Changes for the 2012 Economic Census

In most respects, the 2012 Economic Census will be similar to its predecessor,  which covered 2007; however, the Census Bureau plans to make the following major changes for 2012:

• All single-establishment businesses will have the option to report online. This is the first Economic Census use of web-based collection instruments and the first opportunity for recipients of simple classification forms to report electronically. Businesses with more than one location will continue to have the option to download software with a spreadsheet interface as an option to facilitate preparation of responses.
  
• New statistics will be collected to profile key characteristics of U.S. enterprises, that is, the business organizations that own or control the establishments that are summarized in most economic census reports. The report will include measures of innovation and globalization, as well as size and diversity.
  
• The 2012 revisions to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) will add new industries for solar, wind, and geothermal electricity generation, and reduce industry detail in the manufacturing sector. Details are included in a Federal Register Notice. While most data from the 2012 Economic Census will be published on the 2012 NAICS basis, the Comparative Statistics report will publish basic 2012 and 2007 figures on the 2007 NAICS basis for the U.S. and states.
  
• Selected product categories for wholesale trade and retail trade will be revised to conform with newly-developed parts of the North American Product Classification System (NAPCS). This continues the phased introduction of NAPCS that started in 2002 and continued in 2007 for the services sectors.
• Data on manufactured products will be collected in a way so that NAPCS categories can be evaluated, but published data will continue to use a traditional presentation where product categories are nested within industries.
• The metropolitan and micropolitan areas published in the 2012 Economic Census will be those delineated by the Office of Management and Budget in 2013 based in part on the results of the 2010 Census of Population and Housing. Newly qualifying areas will be identified and the boundaries and/or titles of some existing areas will change.
  
• Data will be released through an updated version of the Census Bureau's American FactFinder (AFF), a web-based dissemination application. Compared to its predecessor, this new system will offer increased usability and functionality. The new AFF, deployed early in 2011 for the first releases of data products from the 2010 Census, will be used for all 2012 Economic Census data products. Data files from the 2007 Economic Census will be transferred into the new system in late 2011.

What Will the 2012 Forms Look Like?

Economic Census forms for 2012 are still in development. There will be roughly 500 versions of the basic census form, each tailored to a particular industry or group of industries. Most 2012 forms and instructions will be essentially similar to the forms and instructions used in the 2007 Economic Census.

See also How Content of the Census is Determined.

More information may be available from census subject specialists.