New Data for Dynamic Analysis:

The Business Information Tracking Series (BITS)
Foreword

What you will find, if you read this report carefully, is a revolution in small business data.

Historically, measurement of small business characteristics has been hampered by a lack of

accurate, comprehensive, and widely respected data able to track businesses over time. In

particular, controversy has raged over the job creation capacities of small firms. Do they create

jobs at all, and if they do, why doesn’t the ratio of jobs in small firms to jobs in large firms

change much from one year to the next?

The Business Information Tracking Series, or BITS, funded and developed by the SBA’s

Office of Advocacy with the cooperation of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the

Census, is a powerful new data base that is already providing the answers to these questions and

dozens more.

The BITS file, formerly called the Longitudinal Enterprise and Establishment Microdata,

or LEEM file, has more than 10 million separate business records with more than 6 million for

each year from 1989 through 1996. For each establishment, the BITS provides data on start year

employment, annual payroll, state, city, county, place, industry, and owning firm. For

establishments that are part of a multi-unit enterprise, the file also includes information about the

enterprise’s firm-wide employment, payroll, primary industry, and location. Identification

numbers allow data to be linked across various data bases, so additional information on business

characteristics can be developed for more detailed understandings of small businesses.

But what makes the data base revolutionary is not simply the broad scope of the data that

can be accessed. The BITS is a dynamic data base that allows small and large business economic

contributions to be tracked over time. Traditional static analyses take snapshots of the economy at

different times and then compare the snapshots. Compared with the still snapshots of static

analysis, dynamic analysis is like a motion picture that captures the wide-ranging movements in

the economy. The action not seen in the static view is how small and large firms start up and

close, expand and contract. The reason the small- to large-firm job ratio doesn’t change much

over time is in the reassignment of size classifications, as job-creating small firms bump up into

the large firm categories and large firms downsize to small. An active economy requires a

massive flow of transactions—measured in dynamic, longitudinal data on jobs—and associated

with these, an ongoing process of firm entry and exit, labor hiring and firing. This once largely

invisible process has become clearly visible in the BITS.

The Office of Advocacy’s efforts to make the BITS available are no small contribution.

Because of the confidentiality of the microdata used to develop the BITS, researchers must

submit a detailed proposal to the Census Bureau’s Center for Economic Studies, apply for sworn

Census researcher status, and conduct their research at one of the Census research data centers.

The Office of Advocacy has made extensive tabulations of the data available on the SBA Web

site at www.sba.gov/advo/stats.

I hope you will find this revolutionary new database useful in your small business

research and policy efforts. Technical questions may be addressed to the report’s prinicipal

researcher and author, Alicia Robb, at alicia.robb@sba.gov. Your comments, questions, and

suggestions for improvement are always welcome: contact the Office of Advocacy, U.S. Small

Business Administration, 409 Third Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20416, (202) 205-6533.

Jere W. Glover

Chief Counsel for Advocacy

U.S. Small Business Administration
Acknowledgments

The author of this report is Alicia Robb of the U.S. Small Business Administration,

Office of Advocacy. The Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Bureau of the Census,

provided significant assistance and support. Ms. Robb, along with Catherine Armington,

working under contract with the Office of Advocacy, and Zoltan Acs, then senior

economic advisor to the office, validated the prototype BITS file (formerly called the

LEEM file). Al Nucci, Paul Hanczaryk, and Ed Walker also provided helpful

information. Kathryn Tobias edited the paper. The views of this paper are not necessarily

the views of the U.S. Small Business Administration or the Bureau of the Census.
Contents

Foreword iii

Acknowledgments iv

Introduction 1

The Business Information Tracking Series 1

Background of the BITS 2

Descriptions of Variables 4

CBP and BITS Comparisons 7

CFN Changes 8

SIC Code Changes 8

Firm and Establishment Size 9

Establishments and Employment by Firm Size and Establishment

Industry 10

Job Generation 10

Multi-Unit and Single-Unit Firms 11

Current Research Projects Using the BITS 12

Conclusion 13

References 15

Tables 17

Introduction

Historically, research on U.S. business activities over time has been hampered by the lack

of accurate and comprehensive longitudinal data. To improve this situation, the U.S.

Small Business Administration (SBA) contracted with the Bureau of the Census to

develop better methods of producing firm size data beginning in 1991. The development

of a new longitudinal file with data on establishments and the firms that own them has

been a joint project of the Census Bureau and SBA’s Office of Advocacy since 1996.

This Business Information Tracking Series (BITS), formerly called the Longitudinal

Establishment and Enterprise Microdata (LEEM) file, currently consists of data on almost

all U.S. establishments with positive payroll for 1989 through 1996. Data for additional

years will normally follow at a lag of two years.

This tremendously rich data source opens up numerous possibilities for research

on businesses in the U.S. economy. It is the first nationwide high-quality longitudinal

data base that covers most employer businesses from all sectors of the economy.

The Business Information Tracking Series

The Business Information Tracking Series covers 10 million separate business locations

that existed at some time during the period from 1989 through 1996, with 1997 data to be

added soon. It contains key data on the entire universe of private sector establishments

with positive payroll, excluding farms (SIC 01-02), railroads (SIC 40), the Postal Service

(SIC 43), private households (SIC 88), and large pension, health, and welfare funds (SIC

6371 with at least 100 employees).1 Each record contains data on an establishment for all

years that it was in existence between 1989 and 1996. Some records have just one year of

data (if the establishment existed for just one year in that interval), while others contain

data for every year from 1989 to 1996. The file is able to track an establishment over

time, even through changes in ownership or legal form of organization.

The basic unit of this file is an establishment. An establishment is a physical

location where a business conducts its activities. Businesses can be organized in several

ways, as sole proprietorships, partnerships, or corporations. They can have just one

establishment (described as single-unit firms) or they may have several establishments

(multi-unit firms). Most firms are made up of just one establishment. More than twothirds of multi-unit firms have fewer than four establishments, but some consist of

thousands of establishments.

The annual information for each establishment includes its Census File Number

(CFN),2 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC),3 state, county, metropolitan statistical

area (MSA), place, firm employment, establishment employment, and annual payroll (see

Table B.1 for a file description).

Separate annual files for all multi-unit firms supplement the BITS file for 1991

through 1996. These files include primary industry (at the 3-digit SIC code level) and

 

1

 Most large pension funds’ establishments have “employment” that represents pensioners receiving

payments.

2

 This is a 10-digit number that uniquely identifies each individual establishment.

3

 This variable has industry detail at the four-digit level in most cases.
2

state location of the firm (both determined by the greatest share of payroll), firm

employment, annual firm payroll, and the number of establishments belonging to each

firm (see Table B.2 for a file description).

Because identification numbers allow data to be linked across various data bases,

additional information on the characteristics of the businesses in the BITS can be

developed for more detailed understandings of small businesses.

Background of the BITS

The primary source of the BITS file is the Standard Statistical Establishment List (SSEL)

from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. This file is the Census Bureau’s business register,

which has been maintained in some form since 1973. The SSEL file goes through a

number of edits before reaching the next stage of BITS processing.

Administrative records form the base of the SSEL file. The Internal Revenue

Service (IRS) maintains a Business Master File Entity (BMF) that contains data for all

business, organizational, and agricultural taxpayers on record with the IRS. Data on the

location and industry of businesses are from this file. The IRS is also the source for

payroll data, but this information comes from payroll tax returns. The business’

employment as of March 12 of each year also comes from these returns.

The Social Security Administration provides the Census Bureau information on

new businesses from Form SS-4 (an application for an Employer Identification Number

or EIN, which all new businesses must complete), which it obtains from the IRS. These

businesses are assigned a 4-digit Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code based on

information on the application. Also included are geographic information, estimated

employment, and other indicators.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) independently maintains its own business

register, the Business Establishment List (BEL). BLS derives this list from state

unemployment insurance administration records. The Census Bureau sends BLS all

SSEL records that lack industry classifications for possible matches on the BEL file in

order to improve Census’ industry reporting. In 1996, for example, 320,000 single-unit

firms were matched to BEL establishments; enabling Census to identify their 4-digit SIC

codes. Social Security records also are used as a source of industry coding.

While relying on outside sources for parts of the SSEL, the Census Bureau itself

also provides data for the file. Its Company Organization Survey (COS) maintains

information on the organizational design and employment of multi-unit firms. This

survey, conducted annually except in years ending in 2 or 7 (when economic censuses are

taken), targets certain multi-unit firms deemed most likely to report changes in their

composition, structure, or other characteristics. All multi-unit firms with more than 250

employees are surveyed every year. 4 However, most of those with fewer than 250

employees are surveyed on a rotating basis, with annual coverage depending on the

availability of funds. In census years, the COS is merged with the economic census to

allow more detailed information to be collected on all but some of the tiniest multi-unit

firms. The COS and the economic censuses are the main sources of information on multiunit firms in the SSEL.

 

4

 All firms that were defined as multi-unit firms as of the most recent economic census.
3

The economic censuses, conducted every five years, provide the most

comprehensive updating of the register of U.S. businesses. These censuses allow new

establishments within existing multi-unit firms to be identified and other information to

be added, such as more detailed industry identification. Apparent surges in conversions

from single units to multi-unit firms in census years result from the inability to recognize

new multi-unit firms in the years between censuses. In years with more limited funding,

the sample of firms surveyed is often much smaller. Births of secondary establishments to

multi-unit firms may be recognized later than their actual occurrence, while the job gains

from these births may be incorrectly attributed to expansions of existing establishments.

When the new secondary establishment is properly reported in the economic census, it

appears as a birth, and its employment, which had been aggregated with that of another

establishment, is transferred. The result is false job creation for births and matching false

destruction from shrinkage. So although the employment changes are correct for firms

overall, there are sometimes distortions in the details.

To supplement all of these sources, data from other Census Bureau surveys, such

as the Annual Survey of Manufacturing (ASM), are used to update records in the SSEL.

The Census Bureau produces annual County Business Patterns (CBP) data from the

SSEL. The CBP provides aggregate data on the number of establishments, employment,

and payroll for private sector non-farm establishments with positive payroll. Because

employment is measured in the pay period that includes March 12 of each year, while

payroll data represent annual payroll, it is possible for a business to have zero

employment, but positive payroll (for example, if the business is seasonal or is formed

after the March 12 pay period). The CBP tabulations exclude railroads and most

government-owned establishments.5 Each new year of data is compared with the previous

year’s data and edited to correct errors. Data gleaned from the COS allow analysts to

correct for cases in which surveyed companies have experienced changes in their

organizational structure.

The Statistics of U.S. Business (SUSB) tabulations are annual files derived from

the CBP. These files cover all private sector establishments with positive payroll,

excluding farms (SIC 01-02), railroads (SIC 40), the Postal Service (SIC 43), private

households (SIC 88), large pension, health, and welfare funds (SIC 6371 with at least 100

employees), and other financial funds. Information about the establishment’s MSA is

appended to the data record, as are updated industry classifications from the following

year’s SSEL, and firm-level data.

Firm data are constructed for all multi-unit firms by aggregating the data from all

affiliated establishments. Single-unit firms have only one location, so their establishment

and firm data are identical. Firm employment, payroll, and receipts are calculated for

multi-unit firms by summing that of all establishments in the firm. Primary state and

primary industry are assigned to each record using the state and industry with the largest

share of annual payroll.

Most of the establishments in the SUSB tabulation files never change their

identification number while they remain in business. For these businesses, changes in

employment levels can be measured by simply comparing their records for different

years. However, when a business is sold, changes its legal form, or adds a secondary

 

5

 Some government organizations, for example, liquor stores and wholesalers, depository institutions and

credit unions, and hospitals, are included.
4

location (in the case of a single-unit firm), its identification number usually changes.

Census has constructed a Longitudinal Pointer File to link establishment records from the

SUSB tabulation files for 1989 through 1996, so that surviving establishments can be

identified even when a business changes its identification number.6 With the Longitudinal

Pointer File, establishment births and deaths can be more accurately identified and

changes in surviving establishments more consistently measured. This pointer file was

used to link annual data for eight years of SUSB files to create the BITS file. The annual

data in the BITS file are identical to the SUSB data, except for the exclusion of some

single units (generally fewer than 50,000 per year) that were double-counted in the SUSB

because of mid-year reorganizations.

The final product of all this processing is the BITS. The BITS file is housed at the

Center for Economic Studies (CES) in the U.S. Bureau of the Census. Because of the

need for confidentiality in the microdata, researchers interested in using the BITS must

submit a detailed proposal to CES, apply for sworn Census researcher status, and conduct

their research at the center or one of its research data centers (RDC). However, extensive

tabulations of these data (in aggregates large enough to eliminate confidentiality

concerns) are available from the SBA. These tabulated data are located on the SBA Web

site (www.sba.gov/advo/stats). Tables are available for the entire United States, as well as by

state, MSA, firm size, and industry. Annual and five-year gross and net employment

changes are also tabulated there.

Descriptions of Variables

Users of the BITS may find it useful to understand each BITS variable in greater detail,

as well as more specific details about the definitions and processing of the variables.

Census File Number

The Census File Number (CFN)7 uniquely identifies each establishment in the BITS file.

For single-unit firms it is a zero followed by a unique nine-digit firm identification

number. For establishments in multi-unit firms, the CFN consists of a 6-digit number

(referred to as the alpha code) that uniquely identifies the firm, followed by a 4-digit

number that uniquely identifies the establishment within that firm. The headquarters of a

multi-unit firm is usually designated by ‘0001’ for the last four digits of the CFN,

although this is not always the case.

Annual Payroll

Annual establishment payroll (APAY) is made up of wages, salaries, reported tips,

vacation allowances, sick-leave pay, bonuses, commissions, employee contributions to

 

6

 See Richard Moore and Mitch Trager, 1995, “Development of a Longitudinally-Linked Establishment

Based Register: March 1993 through April 1995.” Presented at the joint statistical meetings of the

American Statistical Association in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

7

 Variables including the CFN, payroll, firm and establishment totals, employment, SIC code, state, city,

county, and place, may appear in the tables with the year following the abbreviation.
5

qualified pension plans, and compensation paid to corporate officers and executives. It

does not include compensation to proprietors or partners of unincorporated businesses.

The annual figure is either the sum of the four quarters of payroll or, in the cases of

missing data, imputed values.

For single-unit establishments, the annual payroll is the sum of the four quarters

of payroll. Quarterly payroll entries are obtained from IRS Form 941 reports. The Census

Bureau imputes for missing quarters of payroll (however, less than 1 percent of payroll

entries are imputed).8 For multi-unit establishments, annual payroll generally is obtained

from responses on the annual Company Organization Survey (COS). Missing annual

payroll data for multi-units are imputed using the affiliated administrative record data.

For 1994 and prior years, two payroll entries from IRS Form 941—Social

Security wages plus tips, and total compensation—were used to compute quarterly

payroll. In general, analysts from the Census Bureau selected the larger of the two

entries. The Social Security wages variable was deficient because of the wage cap;

however, total compensation did not include employee compensation to qualified pension

plans. Beginning in 1995, Medicare wages were used in the quarterly payroll

computations. These wages are consistent with the payroll definition used above.9

Establishment Employment

Establishment employment (EMP) includes full- and part-time employees, salaried

personnel, and persons on sick leave or vacation in the pay period of March 12. Again,

this figure does not include proprietors or partners of unincorporated businesses. Also

excluded are all contractors and volunteers; however, temporary employees are

included.10 While payroll and employment must be reported, the IRS does not put much

emphasis on the reporting of “total employees” in the 941 reports; thus, employment data

are missing for 15 to 18 percent of establishments. A higher proportion of the larger

entities with EINs do not list employees, but much of these data can be obtained from the

COS.11 Other data must be imputed from payroll changes, using either the prior year’s

reported employment and payroll, or the ratio of employment to payroll in similar

businesses. Employment data for most multi-unit establishments are collected in the

COS. Other surveys and direct calls to companies provide additional information.

Firm Employment

Firm employment (FEMP) is defined similarly to establishment employment but is

aggregated over all establishments under a parent firm. For single-unit firms, firm and

establishment employment are identical.

 

8

 Imputed quarterly payroll entries are based on the average of the reported payroll entries. For example, if

quarter two was missing, quarters one, three, and four are summed and the total is divided by three. This

value is entered for quarter two payroll.

9

 Paul Hanczaryk of the U.S. Bureau of the Census provided this definition.

10 However, if these temporary employees are supplied by a personnel supply agency, they may be included

under that personnel supply agency establishment.

11 Again, the Census Bureau’s Paul Hanczaryk provided further clarification for this variable definition.
6

Standard Industrial Classification

The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code represents the primary industry of the

establishment as classified in the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification system. The

code is usually derived from the industry description listed on the business’ application

for an EIN. The COS and BLS subsequent matching, as well as surveys by the Social

Security Administration and other organizations, often provide industry codes for

establishments that have not yet been classified, or additional detail for those that have

SIC industry detail only to the 2- or 3-digit level.12 Codes are set to 9999 for unclassified

establishments.

State Code

The state code (STATE) represents the Census code for the state in which the

establishment is physically located. All 50 states are represented, as well as the District of

Columbia. Excluded are Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern

Mariana Islands.

Metropolitan Statistical Area

The metropolitan statistical area (MSA) code represents the metropolitan area in which

the establishment is physically located. There were 326 MSAs in the United States in

1995, but these definitions may change over time. Establishments coded 9999 are either

unclassified or are in non-MSA areas. In certain locations, such as New Jersey and the

District of Columbia, there are no non-MSA areas.

County Code

The county code (CTY) represents the county in which the establishment is physically

located. There are more than 3,000 counties, which include Louisiana parishes, the

District of Columbia, independent cities, and boroughs or census areas in Alaska.

Place Code

The place code (PLACE) represents the place in which the establishment is physically

located. The Census Bureau identifies more than 7,600 places, usually locations having

more than 2,500 inhabitants.

Start Year

The start year for each establishment is originally recorded as the first year the

establishment appeared on the 1989 to 1996 Longitudinal Pointer File. For cases where

this is equal to 1989, the source year (SYR) variable from the 1989 SSEL is substituted

for the start year from the Longitudinal Pointer File. The SYR variable represents the first

 

12 There are ranking factors that define rules used for coding this variable.
7

year the establishment appeared in the SSEL. SSEL start years prior to 1977 were

assigned a value of 77 and any SSEL value of 00 or 01 was not used.

It is important to distinguish the meaning behind the numbers of establishments

for two distinct time periods. For the period of the BITS file, 1989-1996, the totals for

each year represent the total number of establishments with payroll that started in each of

those years (Table A.1). For the years before 1989, the numbers represent the number of

establishments that started in that year and that survived until at least 1989 with the same

CFN. This variable is used as a proxy for age.

Obvious jumps in the numbers of new establishments in multi-unit firms in the

census years of 1982, 1987, and 1992 represent delayed reporting of new multi-unit

establishments. The numbers for the single units appear to be disturbed only in 1987,

when the scope of the SSEL was expanded. Researchers should use caution in analyzing

this variable, especially for the multi-unit establishments.

CBP and BITS Comparisons

For validation purposes, aggregate data from the BITS file are now compared with

published CBP tables. The number of establishments, March 12 employment, and annual

payroll from the BITS file are compared with those from the CBP tabulations for the

years 1989-1996 (Table A.2).

The number of establishments in the BITS file is consistently within one percent

of establishments in the CBP. The number is slightly less than that of the CBP because of

the elimination of duplicate records for establishments with mid-year reorganizations in

the CBP file. The employment numbers are even closer, with differences within fivetenths of one percent in every year, suggesting that many of the duplicate records had

little, if any, employment. Annual payroll is within two-tenths of one percent, because

mid-year reorganizations have been accounted for in the BITS file. Whereas the CBP

would have duplicate records for establishments that reorganized over the year, the BITS

recognizes the reorganizations and eliminates duplicate establishments and employment,

but adds both of the partial year payrolls together in order to represent the establishment’s

annual payroll.

A comparison of the number of establishments by major industry in the BITS and

CBP files shows the largest difference in the uncoded classification (Table A.3). By using

additional information from the following years of SSEL data, analysts are able to go

back to prior years and code previously unclassified establishments. This procedure

generally results in the classification of an additional 15,000 establishments each year.

Published CBP data were not updated in a similar manner in earlier years. In 1990 and

1991 there was a strikingly larger number of uncoded establishments in the CBP

compared with the BITS, as well as a corresponding larger number of establishments in

all of the major industries in the BITS file. However, new procedures in the SSEL

processing drastically decreased the number of uncoded establishments in the following

years, resulting in a smaller disparity between the CBP and BITS files. Although a

number of uncoded establishments from CBP continue to be transferred into the coded

industries in the BITS file, the elimination of duplicate establishments dominates, so

establishment counts are lower in every industry in the BITS file compared with the CBP.
8

Comparisons of CBP and BITS employment data by industry resemble

comparisons in establishment counts, but the employment counts differ by a smaller

magnitude (Table A.4). Again, many of the duplicate records eliminated in the BITS

processing had little or no employment. And, as is true with the establishment counts,

there is a dropoff after 1991 and 1992 in the differences between CBP and BITS

employment in uncoded establishments. In the years following, BITS employment was

less in all industry categories, as well as in the uncoded class.

CFN Changes

A change in the CFN of an establishment is the result of one of three actions: 1) a change

in ownership, 2) a change in the legal structure of the organization, or 3) a change from a

single-establishment firm to a multi-unit firm type or vice versa. CFN changes may

alternatively be classified as follows:

1. A single-unit firm can become a different single-unit firm.

2. A single-unit firm can become part of a multi-unit firm.

3. An establishment in a multi-unit firm can become a single-unit firm.

4. An establishment in a multi-unit firm can become part of a different multi-unit

firm.

The BITS file allows investigation into the volume of these occurrences over the

1989-1996 period (Table A.5). On an annual basis, the percentages of surviving

establishments with any type of change range from 1.9 percent in 1992-1993 to 3.1

percent in 1991-1992. The average is close to 2.5 percent, with the highest percentage

centered on the year of the economic census in 1992. The percentage of employment with

CFN changes is higher, ranging from 2.5 percent to 5.5 percent (Table A.6). The most

common type of change was a change from one single unit to another single unit. In the

census year, when all single units were asked if they had any additional locations, there

was a dramatic increase in the percentage of firms that changed from a single unit to a

multi-unit firm. While part of this increase reflects actual changes, another part results

from delayed reporting of secondary establishments since the prior census. These delayed

effects do not distort firm employment and annual payroll totals, but may introduce some

distortions with respect to establishment size class, geographic location, and industry.

SIC Code Changes

In analyses of business changes, the assumption is often made that the industry of a

business stays constant over time. Looking at the BITS file, it is possible to discern

whether or not this is a valid assumption (Table A.7). Among surviving establishments,

single units are much more likely to have an SIC code change than are establishments of

multi-unit firms.13 The incidence of change is very high during the census year, as well as

 

13 This also excludes establishments with an industry code of 9999 (unclassified).
9

the years immediately before and after. The changes in 1992 were probably a

combination of events: corrections to codes that were initially wrong, additional

definition of primary industry codes, and actual changes in primary activity. The Census

Bureau puts extra effort into updates of SIC codes before the census in order to send the

correct industry-specific census form to each business. The annual changes in other years

are probably an understatement of actual changes occurring in establishments in the

natural course of business. During the 1989-1996 interval, almost 25 percent of surviving

single-unit establishments experienced a change in the industry code, almost evenly

distributed across the levels of SIC code changes (1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-digit). Over that same

period, about 14 percent of establishments from multi-unit firms experienced a change in

SIC code. The percentage of employment with SIC code changes closely mirrored the

percentage of establishments experiencing such changes (Table A.8).

Firm and Establishment Size

In many instances, analysts have assumed that firm size is a rough approximation of

establishment size and vice versa. Until now, little data have been available to

substantiate or refute these claims. In the case of single-unit firms, the establishment and

firm sizes are, of course, identical, but this is not the case for establishments of multi-unit

firms. Because multi-unit firms are the source of almost one-quarter of all establishments

and more than one-half of establishment employment, it is important to look at the degree

to which establishment size and firm size differ.

Assuming that firm and establishment size measures may be used interchangeably

as proxies for each other introduces distortions into an analysis. Taking 1996 as an

example, three-fourths or more of the establishments in the smallest employment size

classes (0, 1-4, and 5-9) are in the same establishment and firm size classes (Table A.9).

However, in the 10-19 and 20-49 employment size classes, this percentage drops into the

60s and in the 50-99 class, it is barely over 50 percent. Just 41 percent of establishments

in the 100-249 size class, 32 percent in the 250-499 class, and 31 percent in the 500-999

class are in the same firm size class as the owning firm. Thus, one-half to two-thirds of

establishments with 50 or more employees are owned by firms in larger size classes.

In fact, more than 12 percent of small establishments with fewer than 500

employees are actually in the large (more than 500-employee) firm size class; that is, they

are owned by large firms. When firms with fewer than five employees are not included in

this count, more than 20 percent of small establishments are in large firms. Thus, using

establishment size to represent firm size erroneously includes substantial segments of

large firms in the small size class.

Allocating employment by establishment and firm sizes yields similar results

(Table A.10). Large firms employ almost 20 percent of the employment in establishments

with 10-19 employees, more than 26 percent of employment in establishments with 20-49

employees, more than 38 percent in establishments with 50-99 employees, more than 54

percent in establishments with 100-249 employees, and more than 68 percent in

establishments with 250-499 employees. In fact, firms with 1,000 or more employees

employ about 50 percent or more of the employment located in establishments with 100-

999 employees. They even employ 6 percent and 13 percent of employment in
10

establishments with 1-4 and 5-9 employees, respectively. Here again, using firm size as a

proxy for establishment size may be very misleading.

Establishments, Employment by Firm Size and Establishment Industry

Services, retail trade, construction, and finance, insurance, and real estate (finance) are

the four industries with the largest number of establishments (Table A.11). However,

their patterns of firm size distribution vary quite dramatically by industry. Retail trade has

almost three times as many establishments in the largest firm size category as services.

Establishments in the construction industry are concentrated in the smallest size classes,

whereas manufacturing; transportation, communications, and public utilities

(transportation); wholesale trade; retail trade; and finance all have a significant number of

establishments in the largest size classes.

Distributing employment by size and industry results in even more striking

contrasts (Table A.12). Services, retail trade, and manufacturing far and away employ the

greatest numbers of people. The 20-49 employee size class has a large share of the

employment in almost every industry, and the largest size class has the largest share of

employment in nearly every industry except construction.

Job Generation

The BITS provides comprehensive data for the study of net and gross job flows in U.S

employer establishments. With these longitudinal data, it is also possible to distinguish

the births and deaths of establishments from a change of ownership in surviving

establishments,14 and thus to discern the contributions of each to net growth.

From 1995 to 1996, the net employment growth rate was 1.9 percent (Table

A.13). However, the net growth rate varied across firm employment sizes as well as

industries.15 For example, establishments in firms with fewer than 20 employees had a

growth rate of 7.3 percent, while firms with more than 500 employees grew just 1.0

percent. The middle size class experienced a net loss in employment of 0.1 percent.

Employment in establishments in the service industry grew 2.8 percent, while that in

manufacturing fell 0.7 percent. Employment in the smallest establishment size class grew

the fastest in “other productive” industries and slowest in the distributive industries,

 

14 Since the LEEM file measures employment on March 12 of each year, it will exclude some part time

seasonal businesses. In addition, since births are recognized when they begin to have employees, they have

often been existence with employment for some time before measured in March. The same occurs with

deaths; the death of an establishment will be registered on the first March 12 in which they have no

employees. Thus, the number of establishments and employees for each year represent businesses that had

positive employment on March 12. This will differ from static tables such as CBP, which include all

businesses that existed at any time during that year.

15 The collapsed industry divisions used in Tables 13 and 14 are as follows: Services includes

transportation, communications, and public utilities; finance, insurance, and real estate; and services.

Distribution includes wholesale and retail trade. Other productive includes agriservices, mining, and

construction. Manufacturing is defined similarly to the other industry tables.
11

while employment in the largest size class experienced the exact opposite pattern: it grew

slowest in other productive industries and fastest in the distributive industries.

Net employment growth is the difference between gross job creation from births

of new establishments and expansions of existing establishments, and gross job

destruction from establishment deaths and contractions of continuing establishments.

More than half of the net growth in 1995-1996 was attributable to the net difference

between expansions and contractions of establishments that were active in both years.

The remainder was the difference between employment changes because of births and

deaths. The proportions again varied across employment size classes and industries. Most

of the net change in manufacturing came from expansions minus contractions, whereas in

the service industry, growth was more evenly split between births and deaths and

expansions and contractions.

More than 26 percent of establishments in existence in 1995 experienced

employment expansions over the next year (Table A.14). Another 23.9 percent

experienced contractions and 9.2 percent closed. About 11 percent of the number of 1995

establishments were added as births over the next year. The total establishment

“turnover” is generally calculated as the number of births plus the number of deaths. In

this case, the turnover rate was nearly 20 percent over the one-year period.

Multi-Unit and Single-Unit Firms

In addition to the BITS file, six firm files for the years 1991-1996 contain the following

information about each multi-unit firm: the primary industry of the firm, the number of

establishments owned by the firm, firm employment, firm payroll, and primary state.

There are about 200,000 multi-unit firms in each year. Most of the firms were in services,

retail trade, and wholesale trade, but most of the employment was concentrated in

services, manufacturing, and retail trade (Table A.15). Most of the firms had fewer than

250 employees, but the most of the employment was in the largest firm size class.

The single-unit firms looked somewhat similar. Most were located in services,

retail trade, and construction, with employment concentrated in services, retail trade, and

manufacturing. About half of the single-unit firms were in the 1-4 size class, with very

few in the largest size class.

Single-unit firms had slightly smaller average employment than did multi-unit

firms across the board except in the largest size class. The average employment of the

largest size class, almost three times larger in the multi-unit firms, was the reason for the

significant employment size gap between multi- and single-unit firms. The overall

average employment of multi-units was 340, compared with 9 in single units.

Some other notable differences emerge between single- and multi-unit firms when

they are further broken down into large (more than 500 employees) and small (fewer than

500 employees) size groups. Most firms in both single- and multi-unit groups are small—

92.4 percent of multi-unit firms and 99.9 percent of single units. In small multi-unit

firms, the average employment is 71, compared with only 8 in small single-unit firms

(Tables A.15 and A.16). In large multi-unit firms the average employment is 3,635,

compared with 1,063 in large single-unit firms. Even in firms classified by the Census

Bureau as multi-unit firms that had only one establishment at the time of measurement,
12

the average employment was 51 for small multi-units and 1,403 for large multi-units

(Table A.17). Small multi-unit firms commonly had just one or two establishments,

whereas large firms were much more likely to have 4 or more.

Current Research Projects Using BITS

Several projects under way at the Center for Economic Studies (CES) involve the BITS

file. This section briefly describes these projects to illustrate the versatility and potential

of these new data.

Women- and Minority-Owned Businesses

Research on the race, ethnicity, and gender of business owners as determinants of

business growth and survival is possible through linking the 1992 Survey of MinorityOwned Business Enterprises (SMOBE) with the BITS file. Employer businesses in the

SMOBE sample are identified by their Employer Identification Number (EIN). The EIN

was added to the BITS specifically so that SMOBE data on employer businesses could be

merged with the BITS file.

The SMOBE is a survey of women- and minority-owned businesses carried out

every five years by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. It samples more than 1 million

businesses, oversampling women- and minority-owned businesses, and tags

administrative records with race, ethnicity, and gender variables. It is the most

comprehensive data available on women- and minority-owned businesses. The most

recent survey, the 1992 SMOBE, was released in 1997. The 1997 SMOBE survey is

currently under development and will be released for use in the year 2001.

After the SMOBE data were added to the BITS, it was possible to track these

businesses from 1992 through 1996, comparing the growth and survival rates of womenowned businesses with those of businesses owned by men, as well as minority- with nonminority-owned businesses. Econometric models were used to test for the significance of

gender, race, and ethnicity on business growth and survival.

This analysis was extended by adding variables on the owner’s education and

experience, the amount of capital used for startup, and many other owner and firm

characteristics available from the 1992 Characteristics of Business Owners Survey (CBO)

by the Bureau of the Census. The CBO survey collects additional information from a subsample of the SMOBE population. This survey contains much more detail on business

and owner characteristics, such as the education and experience of the owner, the

percentage of output the firm exports, types and sources of financing used, and whether

the business was franchised. Unfortunately, the Census Bureau canceled the 1997 CBO

because of lack of funding. This has been one of the best sources of detailed information

on women- and minority-owned businesses.

Job Generation

Job flows (creation, destruction, reallocation, and net change) differ by establishment age

and size, firm size, industry, and organizational structure. The BITS file provides detailed
13

comprehensive data for analysis of these differences. The impact of births and deaths on

net job growth is also part of this analysis, as are the various methods of measuring job

flows.

Another project analyzes the gross job generation of the service sector from 1989

to 1995 and compares it with that in manufacturing. Persistent patterns are compared with

those that would be expected if average annual creation and destruction were distributed

across the business population independently of the prior year’s changes. The relationship

between average wages and gross job flows in services and manufacturing is also

examined to provide some basis for discussing the relative quality of new jobs in these

sectors.

Mergers and Acquisitions

The BITS file was used to investigate the volume and impact of U.S. merger and

acquisition activity from 1990 to1994. A subgroup of the establishments in the BITS file

was identified as probable mergers and acquisitions. The characteristics of this group

were compared with those of the rest of the establishments in the BITS file. Their job

creation and destruction over the four-year period and the one-year period from 1994 to

1995 were also compared. A particular focus was “boundary crossers,” establishments

that belonged to small firms in 1990, but large firms in 1994. About half of all such

boundary crossers belonged to the merger/acquisition group, and the other half belonged

to rapidly growing firms. A companion study looked only at acquisitions over the period.

Information Technology and Business Location

With recent advances in information technology, many have predicted that work now

performed in cities will move to more idyllic locations, with communications primarily

managed over the Internet. This project seeks to identify the overall effect of recent

changes in information technology on the location of economic activity. The focus is to

determine the kinds of places (large metropolitan areas, suburbs, small towns, or rural

areas) that are benefiting from firms’ adoption of information technology. Industry-level

data on the adoption of information technology are merged with local industry growth

data from the BITS to determine the differential geographic impact of information

technology.

Conclusion

Until now, research on U.S. business activities over time has been hindered by the lack of

accurate and comprehensive longitudinal data. The new Business Information Tracking

Series includes tremendously rich data that open up numerous possibilities for dynamic

analysis of businesses in the U.S. economy. It is the first nationwide high-quality

longitudinal data base that covers the majority of employer businesses from all sectors of

the economy. Because of the confidential nature of these data, the file is located at the

Center for Economic Studies in the U.S. Bureau of the Census. To access the data,

researchers must submit an acceptable proposal to CES and become sworn Census
14

researchers. However, through the SBA’s Office of Advocacy, static and dynamic

tabulations of the underlying microdata are available to all on a broad, aggregated basis

that eliminates confidentiality concerns.
15

References

Acs, Zoltan, and Catherine Armington, “Longitudinal Establishment and Enterprise

Microdata (LEEM) Documentation,” Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Bureau of the

Census, CES Discussion Paper 98-9, 1998.

Acs, Zoltan, Catherine Armington, and Alicia Robb, “Measuring Job Flow Dynamics in

the U.S. Economy,” Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Bureau of the Census, CES

Discussion Paper 99-1, 1999.

Armington, Catherine, “Statistics of U.S. Business- Microdata and Tables of SBA/Census

Data on Establishment Size,” Office of Advocacy, U.S. Small Business Administration,

Washington, D.C, 1998.

Armington, Catherine, and Alicia Robb, “Mergers and Acquisitions in the United States:

1990-1994,” Office of Advocacy, U.S. Small Business Administration, Washington, D.C,

1998.

Armington, Catherine, and Alicia Robb, “An Investigation into the Volume and Impact

of Business Acquisition Activity in the United States: 1990-1994,” Office of Advocacy,

U.S. Small Business Administration, Washington, D.C., 1999.

Brown, Shelton H. and Bruce Phillips, “Comparison Between Small Business Databases

(USEEM) and Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Employment Data: 1978-1986,” Small

Business Economics, 1989, 1, (4), 273-284.

Kolko, Jed. “The High-Tech Rural Renaissance?: Information Technology, Firm Size,

and Rural Employment Growth,” Office of Advocacy, U.S. Small Business

Administration, Washington, D.C., 1999.

Moore, Richard and Mitch Trager, “Development of a Longitudinally-Linked

Establishment Based Register: March, 1993 Through April, 1995”. Presented at the Joint

Statistical meetings of the American Statistical Association in Lake Buena Vista, Florida,

1995.

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Country Business Patterns, 1992,

“General Explanation” and “Appendices.”

--------, Enterprise Statistics: Company Summary 1987, “General Explanation” and

“Appendices.”

--------, Technical Paper 44, ‘The Standard Statistical Establishment List Program,‘

January 1979.
16

U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Economic Planning and Coordination

Division, (internal) Transmittals of Specification/Procedures: “Program Modifications for

the SSEL Multiunit Complete Company Imputation Model,” 4/30/92.

--------, “Sampling Specifications for the Company Organization Survey Probability

Sample,” 10/13/94.

--------, “Processing Requirements to Create a Longitudinal Data File,” 3/23/95.

--------, “Processing Requirement for the Creation of Longitudinal Composite Records,”

7/12/96.

--------, “Data Base Load Requirements for the Small Business Administration and

International Business Machines Tabulations,” 10/10/96.

U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Economic Surveys Division, (internal):

“County Business Patterns: Specification for Tabulating the Cell Edit Universe and

Identifying Cells for Analyst Review,” 4/7/88.

Walker, Ed, “The Census Bureau’s Business Register: Basic Features and Quality

Issues.” Presented at the Joint Statistical Meetings, 1997.
17

Tables

Table A.1 Start Year Counts for All Establishments

Table A.2 BITS Establishment, Employment, and Payroll and Percentage Differences

 from CBP, 1989-1996

Table A.3 BITS Establishments by Industry with Differences from CBP, 1989-1996

Table A.4 BITS Employment with Differences from CBP. 1989-1996

Table A.5 Distribution of Surviving Establishments, by Types of Change in Identity...,

 1989-1996

 Table A.6 Distribution of Employment in Surviving Establishments, by Type of

 Change in Identity...., 1989-1996

Table A.7 Distribution of Establishments by Type of SIC Code Change and Firm

 Type...., 1989-1996

Table A.8 Distribution of Employment in Surviving Establishments by Type of SIC

 Code Change and Firm Type, 1989-1996

Table A.9 Distribution of Establishments by Establishment and Firm Size...., 1996

Table A.10 Distribution of Employment by Establishment and Firm Size...., 1996

Table A.11 Establishments by Firm Size and Establishment Industry, 1996

Table A.12 Employment by Firm Size and Establishment Industry, 1996

Table A.13 Employment Changes by Establishment Change Type, Industry, and Firm

 Size, 1995-1996

Table A.14 Establishment Turnover and Establishments with Employment Changes by

 Establishment Change Type, Industry, and Firm Size, 1995-1996

Table A.15 Multi-Unit and Single-Unit Employment and Number of Firms by Firm

 Industry and Size, 1996

Table A.16 Multi-Unit Firm Employment and Firms Counts by Firm Industry and Firm

 Size, 1996

Table A.17 Multi-Unit Firms, Average Firm Employment, and Number of

 Establishments, 1996

Table B.1 BITS File Contents

Table B.2 Firm File Contents
Table A.1 Start Year Counts for All Establishments

Year Multi-units Single Units All

<=1973 20,468 844,970 865,438

1996 1,798 77,496 79,294

1996 2,310 95,460 97,770

1996 3,712 116,972 120,684

1996 325,273 111,435 436,708

1996 142,107 124,954 267,061

1996 38,655 137,811 176,466

1996 32,310 144,824 177,134

1996 34,095 102,181 136,276

1996 79,964 241,923 321,887

1996 52,064 259,606 311,670

1996 57,039 298,484 355,523

1996 52,794 315,280 368,074

1996 77,588 298,873 376,461

1996 148,221 572,178 720,399

1996 91,231 529,594 620,825

1996 99,721 532,468 632,189

1996 95,486 638,807 734,293

1996 132,031 552,823 684,854

1996 193,382 576,680 770,062

1996 83,151 607,323 690,474

1996 109,712 614,037 723,749

1996 97,270 615,732 713,002

1996 101,780 641,007 742,787

All 2,072,162 9,050,918 11,123,080

Note: For the 1989-1996 period, the totals represent the 

number of establishments with payroll that started each year.

For 1974-1988, the totals represent establishments that 

started in the year shown and survived at least until 1989 

with the same CFN.
Table A.2 BITS Establishments, Employment, Payroll, and Percentage

Differences from CBP 1989-1996

Establishments Employment Annual Payroll

1996 BITS 6,063,857 91,626,094 1,989,941,540

Difference from CBP Not available Not available Not available

1996 BITS 6,126,016 93,425,129 2,103,970,738

Difference from CBP -80.23% -0.05% -0.01%

1996 BITS 6,155,181 92,265,576 2,145,015,524

Difference from CBP -0.73% -0.04% 0.00%

1996 BITS 6,275,349 92,791,525 2,272,392,323

Difference from CBP -0.67% -0.01% 0.02%

1996 BITS 6,356,795 94,740,911 2,363,208,106

Difference from CBP -0.73% -0.05% -0.01%

1996 BITS 6,465,057 96,687,346 2,487,959,727

Difference from CBP -0.68% -0.05% -0.01%

1996 BITS 6,566,634 100,282,036 2,665,921,824

Difference from CBP -0.70% -0.05% -0.02%

1996 BITS 6,699,635 102,149,281 2,848,623,049

Difference from CBP -0.58% -0.05% -0.01%
Table A.3 BITS Establishments by Industry with Differences from CBP

Agri. Services Mining Construction Manufacturing Transportation Wholesale Retail Trade Finance Services Uncoded All

1996 BITS 83,815 30,946 590,421 380,379 238,118 478,428 1,548,872 546,538 2,068,606 97,734 6,063,857

Difference 

from CBP Not Available Not Available Not Available Not Available Not Available Not Available Not Available Not Available Not Available Not Available Not Available

1996 BITS 88,197 30,767 597,463 383,360 240,692 482,404 1,559,347 561,026 2,120,101 62,659 6,126,016

Difference 

from CBP 3.99% 1.34% 3.30% 1.39% 2.34% 1.27% 1.94% 2.99% 2.95% -75.77% -0.80%

1996 BITS 92,073 30,710 583,512 379,131 248,559 485,807 1,555,463 583,064 2,169,042 27,820 6,155,181

Difference 

from CBP 0.86% 0.87% 0.99% 1.37% 1.51% 1.54% 0.53% 1.03% 1.28% -79.79% -0.73%

1996 BITS 96,675 29,120 586,103 385,227 257,846 491,321 1,554,449 596,271 2,209,480 68,857 6,275,349

Difference 

from CBP -0.59% -0.03% -0.44% -0.36% -0.25% -0.16% -0.63% -0.10% -0.37% -20.50% -0.67%

1996 BITS 99,723 28,458 595,306 385,111 265,761 507,786 1,540,286 607,641 2,279,225 47,498 6,356,795

Difference 

from CBP -0.62% -0.23% -0.49% -0.39% -0.35% -0.25% -0.73% -0.16% -0.44% -26.28% -0.73%

1996 BITS 103,503 28,251 616,525 384,988 275,185 511,382 1,551,826 615,958 2,330,128 47,311 6,465,057

Difference 

from CBP -0.85% -0.22% -0.70% -0.49% -0.36% -0.22% -0.79% -0.23% -0.52% -16.00% -0.68%

1996 BITS 107,607 27,307 631,002 388,099 284,159 516,596 1,556,936 627,527 2,376,053 51,348 6,566,634

Difference 

from CBP -0.69% -0.18% -0.48% -0.47% -0.29% -0.22% -0.70% -0.15% -0.40% -25.49% -0.70%

1996 BITS 112,170 26,793 653,475 391,475 294,231 530,020 1,566,987 648,543 2,447,401 28,540 6,699,635

Difference 

from CBP -0.73% -0.24% -0.65% -0.40% -0.33% -0.23% -0.78% -0.25% -0.56% -7.40% -0.58%
Table A.4 BITS Employment with Differences from CBP

Agri. Services Mining Construction Manufacturing Transportation Wholesale Retail Trade Finance Services Uncoded All

1996 BITS 498,822 713,377 5,136,654 19,534,640 5,438,537 6,193,375 19,480,453 6,819,825 27,537,437 272,974 91,626,094

Difference 

from CBP Not Available Not Available Not Available Not Available Not Available Not Available Not Available Not Available Not Available Not Available Not Available

1996 BITS 537,741 723,181 5,253,667 19,164,717 5,593,417 6,330,712 19,849,202 6,982,165 28,861,662 128,665 93,425,129

Difference 

from CBP 1.27% 0.00% 0.28% -0.05% 0.03% 0.05% 0.17% 0.37% 0.21% -59.58% -0.05%

1996 BITS 544,544 716,201 4,676,228 18,386,538 5,588,962 6,224,113 19,615,932 6,860,111 29,608,401 44,546 92,265,576

Difference 

from CBP 0.16% -0.09% 0.11% 0.02% 0.08% 0.08% 0.08% 0.00% 0.11% -69.83% -0.04%

1996 BITS 593,167 650,121 4,498,610 18,163,522 5,519,973 6,093,861 19,671,302 6,903,550 30,653,020 44,399 92,791,525

Difference 

from CBP -0.06% -0.07% -0.03% 0.01% 0.05% -0.01% 0.00% -0.03% 0.00% -13.23% -0.01%

1996 BITS 587,939 608,204 4,522,450 18,181,371 5,621,050 6,256,824 19,769,302 6,890,282 32,249,712 53,777 94,740,911

Difference 

from CBP -0.07% -0.01% -0.04% -0.01% -0.01% -0.02% -0.04% -0.22% -0.03% -16.55% -0.05%

1996 BITS 585,568 607,686 4,706,769 18,094,553 5,712,722 6,365,306 20,313,114 6,989,737 33,244,520 67,371 96,687,346

Difference 

from CBP -0.09% -0.01% -0.06% -0.02% -0.01% -0.01% -0.04% -0.18% -0.03% -12.27% -0.05%

1996 BITS 629,708 627,315 5,037,180 18,608,827 5,923,321 6,605,067 21,077,311 6,983,830 34,698,301 91,176 100,282,036

Difference 

from CBP -0.07% -0.03% -0.03% -0.02% -0.02% -0.02% -0.03% -0.20% -0.03% -13.44% -0.05%

1996 BITS 663,289 574,277 5,203,837 18,556,287 6,056,022 6,662,913 21,476,633 7,183,838 35,733,053 39,132 102,149,281

Difference 

from CBP -0.15% -0.01% -0.06% -0.01% -0.02% -0.03% -0.05% -0.15% -0.05% -6.75% -0.05%
Table A.5 Distribution of Surviving Establishments, by Type of Change in Identity (CFN) and Percent of Surviving Establishments in Each Period

1989-1990 1990-1991 1991-1992 1992-1993 1993-1994 1994-1995 1995-1996 1989-1996

Total Surviving Establishments 5,391,723 5,434,691 5,463,508 5,629,194 5,705,266 5,819,268 5,819,268 3,389,979

Beginning Year CFN is Single-Unit Type 78.3% 78.5% 78.5% 76.4% 77.0% 77.1% 77.4% 78.0%

With Ending Year CFN:

Unchanged 76.7% 76.5% 75.9% 75.1% 75.6% 75.8% 76.0% 68.9%

Different Single Unit 1.5% 1.4% 1.3% 1.3% 1.2% 1.2% 1.3% 6.8%

Multi-Unit Type 0.1% 0.5% 1.2% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 2.2%

Beginning Year CFN is Multi-Unit Type 21.7% 21.5% 21.5% 23.6% 23.0% 22.9% 22.6% 22.0%

With Ending Year CFN:

Unchanged 21.2% 20.6% 21.0% 23.0% 22.0% 22.0% 21.2% 17.1%

Different Multi-Unit 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 1.1% 0.9% 1.0% 4.0%

Single-Unit Type 0.0% 0.4% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.4% 1.0%

Total With Changes 2.2% 2.8% 3.1% 1.9% 2.4% 2.3% 2.8% 14.0%
Table A. 6 Distribution of Employment in Surviving Establishments by Type of Change in Identity and Percent of Total Employment in Surviving 

Establishments in Each Period

1989-1990 1990-1991 1991-1992 1992-1993 1993-1994 1994-1995 1995-1996 1989-1996

Total Employment in Surviving Establishments 87,170,296 88,944,825 87,326,630 88,304,518 90,189,898 92,500,016 95,688,380 65,985,494

Beginning Year CFN is Single-Unit Type 45.0% 45.1% 45.2% 42.0% 42.7% 42.9% 43.4% 43.2%

With Ending Year CFN:

Unchanged 43.8% 43.2% 41.1% 41.3% 41.7% 42.0% 42.2% 35.1%

Different Single Unit 0.6% 0.6% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 2.2%

Multi-Unit Type 0.5% 1.4% 3.6% 0.3% 0.5% 0.5% 0.7% 5.8%

Beginning Year CFN is Multi-Unit Type 55.0% 54.9% 54.8% 58.0% 57.3% 57.1% 56.6% 56.8%

With Ending Year CFN:

Unchanged 53.5% 52.3% 53.4% 56.2% 54.4% 54.2% 53.1% 43.9%

Different Multi-Unit 1.4% 1.5% 1.3% 1.7% 2.8% 2.8% 2.8% 11.4%

Single-Unit Type 0.1% 1.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.0% 0.7% 1.6%

Total with Changes 2.6% 4.5% 5.5% 2.5% 3.8% 3.8% 4.7% 21.0%
Table A.7 Distribution of Surviving Establishments by SIC Code Change and Firm Type and Percentage of All Surviving

Establishments in Each (Beginning Year) Firm Type

Number of 

Period Firm Type Surviving SIC Unchanged Industry Division 2-Digit Class 3-Digit Class 4-Digit Class Any Change

Establishments Same Division Same 2-Digit Same 3-Digit

1989-1990 Single Units 4,169,450 98.20% 0.48% 0.34% 0.38% 0.60% 1.80%

Multi-Units 1,169,359 99.42% 0.20% 0.12% 0.17% 0.08% 0.58%

1990-1991 Single Units 4,229,532 94.38% 1.16% 1.22% 1.52% 1.71% 5.62%

Multi-Units 1,170,922 97.89% 0.43% 0.23% 0.64% 0.83% 2.11%

1991-1992 Single Units 4,279,770 91.98% 2.50% 1.57% 1.89% 2.05% 8.02%

Multi-Units 1,176,583 98.03% 0.83% 0.47% 0.47% 0.20% 1.97%

1992-1993 Single Units 4,257,670 84.01% 2.54% 2.64% 5.49% 5.32% 15.99%

Multi-Units 1,326,194 89.74% 1.75% 2.72% 3.16% 2.64% 10.26%

1993-1994 Single Units 4,369,561 97.80% 0.48% 0.35% 0.37% 1.00% 2.20%

Multi-Units 1,314,115 98.51% 0.34% 0.22% 0.35% 0.58% 1.49%

1994-1995 Single Units 4,458,702 97.98% 0.75% 0.39% 0.37% 0.52% 2.02%

Multi-Units 1,333,914 98.77% 0.35% 0.26% 0.41% 0.20% 1.23%

1995-1996 Single Units 4,549,479 94.46% 1.42% 1.74% 1.74% 2.84% 7.73%

Multi-Units 1,337,144 98.73% 0.39% 0.31% 0.29% 0.19% 1.17%

1989-1996 Single Units 2,622,997 75.45% 6.17% 5.08% 6.91% 6.39% 24.55%

Multi-Units 746,289 86.09% 3.17% 3.22% 4.02% 3.50% 13.91%

Different:
Table A.8 Distribution of Employment in Surviving Establishments by SIC Code Change and Firm Type (Percentage of all Surviving

Employment in Each Firm Type)

Employment in 

Period Firm Type Surviving SIC Unchanged Industry Division 2-Digit Class 3-Digit Class 4-Digit Class Any Change

Establishments Same Division Same 2-Digit Same 3-Digit

1989-1990 Single Units 46,442,978 98.01% 0.51% 0.34% 0.44% 0.71% 1.99%

Multi-Unit Firms 52,787,205 99.09% 0.30% 0.18% 0.29% 0.15% 0.91%

1990-1991 Single Units 46,567,962 94.54% 1.16% 1.16% 1.49% 1.65% 5.46%

Multi-Unit Firms 53,089,616 97.09% 0.60% 0.32% 1.28% 0.71% 2.91%

1991-1992 Single Units 46,191,938 93.02% 2.28% 1.37% 1.68% 1.65% 6.98%

Multi-Unit Firms 52,889,946 97.33% 1.07% 0.67% 0.59% 0.33% 2.67%

1992-1993 Single Units 43,971,081 82.34% 2.48% 3.57% 5.15% 6.46% 17.66%

Multi-Unit Firms 56,498,483 90.45% 1.25% 2.45% 2.75% 3.09% 9.55%

1993-1994 Single Units 45,801,600 97.68% 0.50% 0.43% 0.39% 1.00% 2.32%

Multi-Unit Firms 56,972,750 97.93% 0.42% 0.38% 0.51% 0.76% 2.07%

1994-1995 Single Units 47,464,171 97.71% 0.74% 0.49% 0.47% 0.59% 2.29%

Multi-Unit Firms 58,338,048 98.07% 0.35% 0.63% 0.54% 0.41% 1.93%

1995-1996 Single Units 48,884,007 94.46% 1.42% 1.04% 1.38% 1.71% 5.54%

Multi-Unit Firms 59,674,126 98.73% 0.39% 0.39% 0.33% 0.16% 1.27%

1989-1996 Single Units 38,969,191 75.84% 5.78% 5.49% 6.33% 6.56% 24.16%

Multi-Unit Firms 45,724,153 85.87% 2.71% 3.39% 4.45% 3.58% 14.13%

Different:
Table A.9 Distribution of Establishments by Establishment and Firm Size with Percentage Distribution by Firm Size for Each Establishment Size, 1996

Estab. Size 0 1-4 5-9 10-19 20-49 50-99 100-249 250-499 500-999 1000+ All

0 687,960 2,363 1,097 910 1,501 1,283 2,578 3,054 3,565 25,336 729,647

1-4 . 2,611,032 23,099 26,615 34,700 23,013 27,017 17,570 17,051 151,673 2,931,770

5-9 . . 987,870 27,521 32,869 25,346 31,380 22,030 19,785 168,671 1,315,472

10-19 . . . 569,003 34,421 22,580 28,647 19,601 16,170 136,742 827,164

20-49 . . . . 341,700 22,840 26,341 19,279 15,950 125,259 551,369

50-99 . . . . . 95,753 13,996 8,936 8,025 62,567 189,277

100-249 . . . . . . 44,597 6,579 5,720 53,318 110,214

250-499 . . . . . . . 9,013 2,166 16,849 28,028

500-999 . . . . . . . . 3,310 7,344 10,654

1000+ . . . . . . . . . 6,040 6,040

All 687,960 2,613,395 1,012,066 624,049 445,191 190,815 174,556 106,062 91,742 753,799 6,699,635

Estab. Size 0 1-4 5-9 10-19 20-49 50-99 100-249 250-499 500-999 1000+ All

0 94.3% 0.3% 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 0.2% 0.4% 0.4% 0.5% 3.5% 729,647

1-4 . 89.1% 0.8% 0.9% 1.2% 0.8% 0.9% 0.6% 0.6% 5.2% 2,931,770

5-9 . . 75.1% 2.1% 2.5% 1.9% 2.4% 1.7% 1.5% 12.8% 1,315,472

10-19 . . . 68.8% 4.2% 2.7% 3.5% 2.4% 2.0% 16.5% 827,164

20-49 . . . . 62.0% 4.1% 4.8% 3.5% 2.9% 22.7% 551,369

50-99 . . . . . 50.6% 7.4% 4.7% 4.2% 33.1% 189,277

100-249 . . . . . . 40.5% 6.0% 5.2% 48.4% 110,214

250-499 . . . . . . . 32.2% 7.7% 60.1% 28,028

500-999 . . . . . . . . 31.1% 68.9% 10,654

1000+ . . . . . . . . . 100.0% 6,040

All 10.3% 39.0% 15.1% 9.3% 6.6% 2.8% 2.6% 1.6% 1.4% 11.3% 6,699,635

Firm Size

Firm Size
Table A.11 Establishments by Firm Size and Establishment Industry, 1996 

Firm Size Agri. Services* Mining Construction Manufacturing Transportation Wholesale Retail Finance Services Uncoded*

0

1-4 24,146 2,355 102,574 27,443 30,249 42,313 129,044 56,971 256,588 16,277

5-9 50,984 9,862 316,564 100,934 101,812 181,995 466,676 272,235 1,102,310 10,023

10-19 19,742 3,259 113,510 61,195 36,005 80,181 230,780 62,387 403,501 1,506

20-49 10,550 2,481 64,380 53,154 24,093 58,945 154,183 34,177 221,557 529

50-99 6,219 1,952 36,309 48,935 18,410 47,280 115,689 28,224 144,183 457

100-249 . 888 9,301 22,462 8,232 21,651 49,228 16,693 61,537 .

250-499 . 819 4,654 18,230 7,642 19,000 45,670 17,655 60,444 .

500-999 . 657 1,439 9,944 4,967 9,989 31,303 11,903 35,665 .

1000+ . 526 918 8,283 5,202 9,203 27,820 11,419 28,252 .

All . 3,994 3,826 40,895 57,619 59,463 316,594 136,879 133,364 .

112,170 26,793 653,475 391,475 294,231 530,020 1,566,987 648,543 2,447,401 28,540
Table A.10 Distribution of Employment by Establishment and Firm Size with Percentage Distribution by Firm Size for Each Establishment Size, 1996

Establishment Size 0 1-4 5-9 10-19 20-49 50-99 100-249 250-499 500-999 1000+ All

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1-4 . 5,476,708 58,121 66,684 88,888 60,194 69,052 45,262 43,721 369,529 6,278,159

5-9 . . 6,474,790 183,690 221,641 171,194 212,831 150,016 133,120 1,145,785 8,693,067

10-19 . . . 7,596,813 472,483 308,725 391,551 267,684 220,427 1,861,682 11,119,365

20-49 . . . . 10,123,008 728,771 822,185 604,463 501,202 3,898,878 16,678,507

50-99 . . . . . 6,458,795 983,957 616,324 558,011 4,391,556 13,008,643

100-249 . . . . . . 6,441,829 1,037,753 874,941 8,183,012 16,537,535

250-499 . . . . . . . 3,003,598 760,651 5,771,538 9,535,787

500-999 . . . . . . . . 2,205,712 5,067,466 7,273,178

1000+ . . . . . . . . . 13,025,040 13,025,040

All 0 5,476,708 6,532,911 7,847,187 10,906,020 7,727,679 8,921,405 5,725,100 5,297,785 43,714,486 102,149,281

Establishment Size 0 1-4 5-9 10-19 20-49 50-99 100-249 250-499 500-999 1000+ All

0 . . . . . . . . . . 0

1-4 . 87.2% 0.9% 1.1% 1.4% 1.0% 1.1% 0.7% 0.7% 5.9% 6,278,159

5-9 . . 74.5% 2.1% 2.5% 2.0% 2.4% 1.7% 1.5% 13.2% 8,693,067

10-19 . . . 68.3% 4.2% 2.8% 3.5% 2.4% 2.0% 16.7% 11,119,365

20-49 . . . . 60.7% 4.4% 4.9% 3.6% 3.0% 23.4% 16,678,507

50-99 . . . . . 49.7% 7.6% 4.7% 4.3% 33.8% 13,008,643

100-249 . . . . . . 39.0% 6.3% 5.3% 49.5% 16,537,535

250-499 . . . . . . . 31.5% 8.0% 60.5% 9,535,787

500-999 . . . . . . . . 30.3% 69.7% 7,273,178

1000+ . . . . . . . . . 100.0% 13,025,040

All 0.0% 5.4% 6.4% 7.7% 10.7% 7.6% 8.7% 5.6% 5.2% 42.8% 102,149,281

Employment by Firm Size

 Percentage Distribution of Employment by Firm Size
Table A.12 Employment by Firm Size and Establishment Industry, 1996

Firm Size Agri. Services* Mining Construction Manufacturing Transportation Wholesale Retail Finance Services Uncoded*

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1-4 106,218 19,821 662,725 228,838 208,541 388,356 1,036,621 522,981 2,285,915 16,692

5-9 129,451 21,219 741,469 410,302 232,536 519,708 1,486,222 389,015 2,593,263 9,726

10-19 138,415 32,007 857,727 721,892 306,919 727,840 1,891,593 391,062 2,772,847 6,885

20-49 269,042 50,124 1,054,476 1,447,331 461,427 1,035,273 2,673,427 528,369 3,539,909 20,353

50-99 . 36,171 588,754 1,327,522 335,729 677,491 1,690,652 413,937 2,609,026 .

100-249 . 41,832 521,650 1,761,403 384,630 686,510 1,434,257 497,377 3,558,283 .

250-499 . 36,163 229,032 1,243,639 250,936 357,496 787,011 323,297 2,479,459 .

500-999 . 32,700 140,426 1,254,431 247,442 265,322 656,181 315,624 2,375,109 .

1000+ . 304,240 407,578 10,160,929 3,627,862 2,004,917 9,820,669 3,802,176 13,519,242 .

ALL 663,289 574,277 5,203,837 18,556,287 6,056,022 6,662,913 21,476,633 7,183,838 35,733,053 39,132

Note: Agricultural Services and Uncoded are aggregated to size class 20+ to prevent disclosure of confidential information.
Table A. 13 Employment Changes by Establishment Change Type, Industry, and Firm Size, 1995-1996

Establishment Births Deaths Expansions Contractions Net

Industry Firm Size Employment 1995

Manufacturing <20 1,347,584 7.8% -7.4% 16.2% -9.6% 7.1%

20-499 5,815,749 2.9% -3.6% 8.3% -8.9% -1.3%

500+ 11,447,109 2.5% -2.5% 6.0% -7.3% -1.3%

All 18,610,442 3.0% -3.2% 7.5% -8.0% -0.7%

Other Productive

<20 2,648,168 10.6% -9.0% 20.9% -13.0% 9.6%

20-499 2,655,073 3.4% -3.9% 13.2% -14.6% -1.9%

500+ 993,356 4.2% -8.0% 10.8% -13.0% -6.0%

All 6,296,597 6.6% -6.7% 16.1% -13.7% 2.3%

Distributive

<20 6,019,430 9.6% -8.9% 13.8% -9.8% 4.7%

20-499 9,368,767 5.6% -5.2% 8.5% -9.7% -0.8%

500+ 12,299,214 6.9% -3.9% 8.6% -9.1% 2.4%

All 27,687,411 7.0% -5.5% 9.7% -9.4% 1.8%

Services

<20 9,532,205 9.3% -7.5% 15.8% -9.3% 8.4%

20-499 15,232,624 4.8% -5.1% 10.6% -9.2% 1.0%

500+ 22,922,757 6.0% -4.3% 9.1% -9.1% 1.7%

All 47,687,586 6.3% -5.2% 10.9% -9.2% 2.8%

All

<20 19,547,387 9.5% -8.1% 15.9% -9.9% 7.3%

20-499 33,072,213 4.5% -4.8% 9.8% -9.7% -0.1%

500+ 47,662,436 5.4% -3.8% 8.3% -8.8% 1.0%

All 100,282,036 5.9% -5.0% 10.3% -9.3% 1.9%

(as a percentage of base year employment in same employment size category)
Table A.14 Establishment Turnover and Establishments with Employment Changes by Establishment Change Type, Industry, and Firm Size, 1995-1996

Number of 1995 Births Deaths Expansions Contractions Total with Changes

Industry Firm Size Establishments

Manufacturing <20 230,824 11.2% 10.3% 29.5% 24.6% 75.6%

20-499 100,476 3.5% 4.3% 41.5% 43.7% 93.0%

500+ 48,552 5.1% 5.1% 38.4% 41.3% 89.8%

All 379,852 8.4% 8.0% 33.8% 31.8% 82.0%

Other Productive

<20 639,301 14.5% 12.2% 26.9% 22.8% 76.3%

20-499 60,637 4.0% 4.4% 40.4% 46.6% 95.3%

500+ 10,470 9.3% 8.9% 33.1% 35.3% 86.6%

All 710,408 13.5% 11.5% 28.1% 25.0% 78.1%

Distributive

<20 1,266,381 12.1% 11.6% 25.1% 22.5% 71.3%

20-499 350,588 5.6% 6.1% 34.6% 38.3% 84.5%

500+ 398,036 8.4% 6.4% 33.3% 36.8% 84.8%

All 2,015,005 10.3% 9.6% 28.4% 28.1% 76.3%

Services

<20 2,412,608 12.5% 10.2% 23.0% 18.8% 64.4%

20-499 424,218 4.8% 5.4% 36.7% 34.7% 81.5%

500+ 352,225 11.6% 9.2% 29.7% 30.5% 81.0%

All 3,189,051 11.4% 9.4% 25.6% 22.2% 68.6%

All

<20 4,549,114 12.6% 10.9% 24.5% 20.7% 68.6%

20-499 935,919 4.9% 5.4% 36.7% 37.8% 84.8%

500+ 809,283 9.6% 7.6% 32.0% 34.3% 83.5%

All 6,566,634 10.6% 9.2% 26.1% 23.9% 69.9%

(as a percentage of base year establishments in same employment size category)
Table A.15 Multi-Unit Firm Employment and Number of Firms by Firm Industry and Size, 1996

Industry Employment Number of Firms Average Employment

Agricultural Services 59,219 302 196.1

Mining 383,338 862 444.7

Construction 596,781 2,595 230.0

Manufacturing 14,529,374 16,780 865.9

Transportation, Communications, & Public Utilities 4,395,691 7,066 622.1

Wholesale Trade 2,829,080 23,127 122.3

Retail Trade 12,736,907 44,881 283.8

Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate 4,928,075 17,607 279.9

Services 16,255,831 53,417 304.3

All 56,714,296 166,637 340.3

Firm Size

0 0 1,123 0.0

1-4 22,662 8,021 2.8

5-9 103,515 14,570 7.1

10-19 403,230 28,531 14.1

20-49 1,362,311 42,551 32.0

50-99 1,824,213 25,801 70.7

100-249 3,658,004 23,338 156.7

250-499 3,533,182 10,102 349.8

500-999 3,919,843 5,632 696.0

1000+ 41,887,336 6,968 6,011.4

All 56,714,296 166,637 340.3

Single-Unit Firm Employment and Number of Firms by Firm Industry and Size, 1996

Industry Employment Number of Firms Average Employment

Agricultural Services 572,593 109,913 5.2

Mining 179,293 19,541 9.2

Construction 4,544,758 643,292 7.1

Manufacturing 5,490,761 310,438 17.7

Transportation, Communications, & Public Utilities 1,766,166 207,051 8.5

Wholesale Trade 3,157,107 384,287 8.2

Retail Trade 8,460,096 1,040,081 8.1

Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate 2,180,075 428,641 5.1

Services 19,045,004 2,100,785 9.1

Uncoded 39,132 28,540 1.4

All 45,434,985 5,272,569 8.6

Firm Size

0 0 684,587 0.0

1-4 5,454,046 2,597,356 2.1

5-9 6,429,396 980,499 6.6

10-19 7,443,957 556,752 13.4

20-49 9,543,709 320,548 29.8

50-99 5,903,466 87,133 67.8

100-249 5,263,401 36,146 145.6

250-499 2,191,918 6,533 335.5

500-999 1,377,942 2,037 676.5

1000+ 1,827,150 978 1,868.3

All 45,434,985 5,272,569 8.6
Table A.16 Multi-Unit Firm Employment and Number of Firms by Firm Industry and Firm Size, 1996

Agri. Services Mining Construction Manufacturing Transportation Wholesale Retail Finance Services All

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1-4 84 167 282 416 713 2,493 7,518 2,993 7,996 22,662

5-9 256 437 937 1,890 3,408 14,328 33,874 11,511 36,874 103,515

10-19 602 1,528 3,507 9,617 14,008 64,296 126,074 46,153 137,445 403,230

20-49 2,327 5,762 21,025 78,111 55,352 237,419 385,181 161,617 415,517 1,362,311

50-99 3,494 9,138 34,561 210,073 90,908 281,786 463,388 203,379 527,486 1,824,213

100-249 4,511 21,435 79,034 691,367 176,137 419,668 844,076 304,728 1,117,048 3,658,004

250-499 4,665 28,746 86,107 908,735 170,051 274,707 675,117 233,080 1,151,974 3,533,182

500-999 5,445 30,217 82,423 1,129,845 212,640 223,354 623,518 261,138 1,351,263 3,919,843

1000+ 37,835 285,908 288,905 11,499,320 3,672,474 1,311,029 9,578,161 3,703,476 11,510,228 41,887,336

All 59,219 383,338 596,781 14,529,374 4,395,691 2,829,080 12,736,907 4,928,075 16,255,831 56,714,296

Agri. Services Mining Construction Manufacturing Transportation Wholesale Retail Finance Services All

0 6 3 12 48 45 100 431 114 364 1,123

1-4 36 61 103 163 266 878 2,572 1,121 2,821 8,021

5-9 36 63 133 266 469 2,011 4,777 1,629 5,186 14,570

10-19 44 102 250 660 986 4,487 8,949 3,252 9,801 28,531

20-49 72 176 636 2,264 1,693 7,403 12,217 4,986 13,104 42,551

50-99 50 131 488 2,887 1,282 4,043 6,557 2,899 7,464 25,801

100-249 27 139 505 4,270 1,138 2,744 5,462 2,001 7,052 23,338

250-499 13 79 245 2,569 485 795 1,957 676 3,283 10,102

500-999 8 44 119 1,610 307 326 900 378 1,940 5,632

1000+ 10 64 104 2,043 395 340 1,059 551 2,402 6,968

All 302 862 2,595 16,780 7,066 23,127 44,881 17,607 53,417 166,637

Employment

Number of Firms
Table A.17 Multi-Unit Firms, Average Firm Employment, and Number of Establishments, 

1996

Establishments 

per Firm

Number of 

Firms

Average Firm 

Employment

Number of 

Establishments

Number of 

Firms

Average Firm 

Employment

Number of 

Establishments

1996 13,338 51 13,338 667 1,403 667

1996 70,282 42 140,564 770 1,181 1,540

1996 26,943 63 80,829 660 1,158 1,980

4-9 34,247 106 184,495 3,095 1,300 19,212

10-19 6,869 187 89,798 2,397 1,628 33,004

20-99 2,337 275 72,831 3,561 3,027 156,738

100-499 21 277 2,685 1,154 10,253 234,607

500-999 . . . 172 25,035 119,193

1000+ . . . 124 67,400 275,585

All 154,037 71 584,540 12,600 3,635 842,526

Small Firms Large Firms
Table B.1: BITS File Contents

Variable Type Length Description

APAY89 Num 1996 Annual Payroll in Thousands, 1989

APAY90 Num 1996 Annual Payroll in Thousands, 1990

APAY91 Num 1996 Annual Payroll in Thousands, 1991

APAY92 Num 1996 Annual Payroll in Thousands, 1992

APAY93 Num 1996 Annual Payroll in Thousands, 1993

APAY94 Num 1996 Annual Payroll in Thousands, 1994

APAY95 Num 1996 Annual Payroll in Thousands, 1995

APAY96 Num 1996 Annual Payroll in Thousands, 1996

CFN89 Char 1996 Census File Number, 1989

CFN90 Char 1996 Census File Number, 1990

CFN91 Char 1996 Census File Number, 1991

CFN92 Char 1996 Census File Number, 1992

CFN93 Char 1996 Census File Number, 1993

CFN94 Char 1996 Census File Number, 1994

CFN95 Char 1996 Census File Number, 1995

CFN96 Char 1996 Census File Number, 1996

CTY89 Char 1996 County Code, 1989

CTY90 Char 1996 County Code, 1990

CTY91 Char 1996 County Code, 1991

CTY92 Char 1996 County Code, 1992

CTY93 Char 1996 County Code, 1993

CTY94 Char 1996 County Code, 1994

CTY95 Char 1996 County Code, 1995

CTY96 Char 1996 County Code, 1996

EI Char 1996 Employer Identification Number, 1992

EMP89 Num 1996 Establishment Employment, 1989

EMP90 Num 1996 Establishment Employment, 1990

EMP91 Num 1996 Establishment Employment, 1991

EMP92 Num 1996 Establishment Employment, 1992

EMP93 Num 1996 Establishment Employment, 1993

EMP94 Num 1996 Establishment Employment, 1994

EMP95 Num 1996 Establishment Employment, 1995

EMP96 Num 1996 Establishment Employment, 1996

FEMP89 Num 1996 Firm Employment, 1989

FEMP90 Num 1996 Firm Employment, 1990

FEMP91 Num 1996 Firm Employment, 1991

FEMP92 Num 1996 Firm Employment, 1992

FEMP93 Num 1996 Firm Employment, 1993

FEMP94 Num 1996 Firm Employment, 1994

FEMP95 Num 1996 Firm Employment, 1995

FEMP96 Num 1996 Firm Employment, 1996

MSA89 Char 1996 Metropolitan Statistical Area, 1989

MSA90 Char 1996 Metropolitan Statistical Area, 1990

MSA91 Char 1996 Metropolitan Statistical Area, 1991

MSA92 Char 1996 Metropolitan Statistical Area, 1992

MSA93 Char 1996 Metropolitan Statistical Area, 1993

MSA94 Char 1996 Metropolitan Statistical Area, 1994

MSA95 Char 1996 Metropolitan Statistical Area, 1995

MSA96 Char 1996 Metropolitan Statistical Area, 1996

PL89 Char 1996 Place Code, 1989

PL90 Char 1996 Place Code, 1990

PL91 Char 1996 Place Code, 1991

PL92 Char 1996 Place Code, 1992

PL93 Char 1996 Place Code, 1993

PL94 Char 1996 Place Code, 1994
Table B.1: BITS File Contents

Variable Type Length Description

PL95 Char 1996 Place Code, 1995

PL96 Char 1996 Place Code, 1996

SIC89 Char 1996 Standard Industrial Classification Code, 1989

SIC90 Char 1996 Standard Industrial Classification Code, 1990

SIC91 Char 1996 Standard Industrial Classification Code, 1991

SIC92 Char 1996 Standard Industrial Classification Code, 1992

SIC93 Char 1996 Standard Industrial Classification Code, 1993

SIC94 Char 1996 Standard Industrial Classification Code, 1994

SIC95 Char 1996 Standard Industrial Classification Code, 1995

SIC96 Char 1996 Standard Industrial Classification Code, 1996

STARTYR Num 1996 Establishment Start Year

STATE89 Char 1996 State Code, 1989

STATE90 Char 1996 State Code, 1990

STATE91 Char 1996 State Code, 1991

STATE92 Char 1996 State Code, 1992

STATE93 Char 1996 State Code, 1993

STATE94 Char 1996 State Code, 1994

STATE95 Char 1996 State Code, 1995

STATE96 Char 1996 State Code, 1996
Table B.2: Firm File Contents

Variable Type Length Description

1 ALPHA Char 1996 Firm Alpha Code

3 ENTEMPL Num 1996 Firm Employment

5 ENTESTB Num 1996 Number of Establishments in Firm

4 ENTPAYR Num 1996 Firm Annual Payroll, in Thousands

6 ENTSIC Char 1996 Firm Industry

2 ENTST Char 1996 Firm State