Guide to the
1997 Economic Census
Mail and Nonmail Universes
For this sector, large- and medium-size firms, plus all firms known to
operate more than one establishment, were sent questionnaires to be
completed and returned to the Census Bureau by mail. For most very
small firms, data from existing administrative records of other Federal
agencies were used instead. These records provided basic information
on location, kind of business, sales, payroll, number of employees,
and legal form of organization.
Firms in the 1997 Economic Census were divided into the mail
universe and nonmail universe. The coverage of and the method of
obtaining census information from each are described below:
- The mail universe consisted of firms for which information was
obtained by means of a mail canvass and included:
- Large employers, i.e., all multiestablishment firms, and all
employer firms with payroll above a specified cutoff. (The
term ''employers'' refers to firms with one or more paid
employees at any time during 1997 as shown in the active
administrative records of other Federal agencies.)
- A sample of small employers, i.e., single-establishment
firms with payroll below a specified cutoff in classifications
for which specialized data precluded reliance solely on
administrative records sources.
- The nonmail universe consisted of firms that were not required to
file a regular census return and included:
- Selected small employers, i.e., single-establishment firms
with payroll below a specified cutoff. Although the payroll
cutoff varied by kind of business, small employers in the
nonmail universe generally included firms with less than 10
employees and represented about 10 percent of total sales of
establishments covered in the census. Data on sales, payroll,
and employment for small employers in the nonmail
universe were derived or estimated from administrative
records of other Federal agencies.
- All nonemployers, i.e., all firms with no paid employees
during 1997. Sales information for these firms was obtained
from administrative records of other Federal agencies.
Although consisting of many firms, nonemployers
accounted for less than 10-percent of total sales of all
establishments covered in the census. The census included
only those nonemployer firms which reported a sales
volume of $1,000 or more during 1997. Establishments with
no paid employees were excluded as in previous censuses.
Data for nonemployers are not included in sector-specific reports, but
are published in Nonemployer Statistics, part of the Core Business Statistics
series.
Industry Classification of Establishments
The classifications for all establishments in this sector were based on
the North American Industry Classification System United States,
1997(NAICS) manual.
The method of assigning classifications and the level of detail at
which establishments were classified differed between the mail and
nonmail universe as follows:
- The mail universe. Establishments in the mail universe
were
classified on the basis of their self-designation, sales of
merchandise lines, and other industry-specific inquiries.
- The nonmail universe.
Selected small employers were classified
on the basis of the most current kind-of-business classification
available from one of the Census Bureau's current sample surveys
or the 1992 Economic Census. Otherwise, the classification was
obtained from administrative records of other Federal agencies. If
the census or administrative record classifications proved
inadequate (none corresponded to a 1997 Economic Census
classification in the detail required for employers), the firm was
sent a brief inquiry requesting information necessary to assign a
kind-of-business code.
Nonemployers were classified on the basis of information obtained
from administrative records of other Federal agencies.
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