INTRODUCTION_____________________________CHARACTERISTICS OF BUSINESS OWNERS


=>GENERAL

The Characteristics of Business Owners (CBO) Survey provides basic
economic, demographic, and sociological data on the characteristics of
minority, women, and nonminority male business owners and their business
activities.  The data were collected through a statistically chosen sample
mail survey and were combined with administrative records data, which were
originally obtained for use in the 1992 Economic Census.  The data from
this sample survey are intended to augment data published in the 1992
Economic Census reports: Survey of Minority-Owned Business Enterprises
(SMOBE), MB92-1, -2, -3, and -4, and Survey of Women-Owned Businesses
(WOB), WB92-1, which are limited to number of firms, employment, annual
payroll, and gross receipts.  The CBO publication presents the traits of
owners and firms by industry division, size of firm, and legal form of
organization.  

=>CENSUS DISCLOSURE RULES

The Bureau of the Census is prohibited by law from publishing any
statistics that disclose information reported by individual companies or
their establishments.  Publishing the number of firms is not considered a
disclosure by the Bureau of the Census rules.  Therefore, these data are
shown, even when other data must be withheld.  The information and data
obtained from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Social Security
Administration (SSA), and other sources are also treated as confidential
and can be seen only by Bureau of the Census employees sworn to protect it
from unwarranted disclosure. 

=>GEOGRAPHIC AREAS COVERED

This report presents data for the United States. No sublevel geographic 
data is available for this publication.

** For more detail, see the documentation for the Survey of Minority- 
and Women-Owned Businesses.

=>DOLLAR VALUES
 
Dollars used in electronic files are stated in thousands ($000) of dollars.
All dollar values presented in this report are expressed in current
dollars, i.e., 1992 data are expressed in 1992 dollars and 1987 data in
1987 dollars.  Consequently, when making comparisons to prior years, users
should take into consideration the inflation that has occurred.

=>DATA ITEM DEFINITIONS

** For detail, see the documentation for the Survey of Minority- and Women-
Owned Businesses.

=>INDUSTRY DESCRIPTIONS

** For detail, see the documentation for the Survey of Minority- and Women-
Owned Businesses.

=>PRINTED REPORTS

    CBO92-1  Characteristics of Business Owners Survey

=>TABULATIONS AND DISSEMINATION

SPECIAL TABULATIONS 

Special tabulations of data collected in the 1992 Characteristics of
Business Owners Survey may be obtained, depending on availability of time
and personnel, on diskette, computer tape, or in tabular form.  The data
will be in summary form and subject to the same rules prohibiting
disclosure of confidential information (including name, address, kind of
business, or other data for individual firms) as are the regular
publications.

Special tabulations are prepared on a cost basis.  A request for a cost
estimate, as well as exact specifications on the type and format of the
data to be provided, should be directed to the Chief, Company Statistics
Branch,  Financial Statistics Division, Bureau of the Census, Washington,
DC 20233-6300.

INTERNET 

The Internet (www.census.gov) highlights selected information from Bureau
of the Census publications and enables immediate access to recently
released facts and data. Various subjects and topics are included on this
electronic resource. For system technical assistance, or questions
regarding the sale or availability of electronic products, contact
Administrative and Customer Services Division, 301-763-INFO(4636).

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