Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 240 / Monday, December 14, 2020 / Notices 80765 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Bureau of the Census 

[Docket Number (201123–0314)] 

2022 Economic Census 

AGENCY: Bureau of the Census, 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of determination and 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of the Census 

(U.S. Census Bureau) publishes this 

notice to announce that it is planning to 

conduct the 2022 Economic Census. The 

Census Bureau also is requesting public 

comment on the 2022 Economic Census 

content. This collection will be fully 

electronic using a secure encrypted 

internet data collection system called 

Centurion. The Economic Census is 

conducted at 5-year intervals (years 

ending in 2 and 7) and is the most 

comprehensive compilation of statistics 

about U.S. businesses and the economy. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before February 12, 

2021 to ensure consideration of your 

comments on the 2022 Economic 

Census content. 

ADDRESSES: Please direct all written 

comments regarding the 2022 Economic 

Census to Kimberly Moore, Chief, 

Economy-Wide Statistics Division, U.S. 

Census Bureau, 4600 Silver Hill Road, 

Washington, DC 20233–7400 or via 

email to econ.content@census.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kimberly Moore, Chief, Economy-Wide 

Statistics Division, U.S. Census Bureau 

by phone (301) 763–7643, or by email at 

kimberly.p.moore@census.gov, or at 

econ.content@census.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background 

The granting of specific authority to 

conduct the program is found in Title 

13, United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 

131, which authorizes and requires the 

Economic Census. Section 131 of Title 

13 U.S.C. directs the Secretary [of 

Commerce] to ‘‘. . .take, compile, and 

publish censuses of manufactures, of 

mineral industries, and of other 

businesses, including the distributive 

trades, service establishments, and 

transportation’’ every five years. 

This notice announces that the 

Census Bureau is preparing to conduct 

the 2022 Economic Census. The Census 

Bureau will begin the mailout for 

electronic collection for the 2022 

Economic Census in the Fall of 2022, 

and responses will be due by midMarch 2023. The Economic Census is 

the U.S. Government’s official 5-year 

measure of American business and the 

economy, and has been taken 

periodically since 1810. The Economic 

Census is the most comprehensive 

source of information about American 

businesses from the national to the local 

level. Economic Census data products 

provide uniquely detailed basic 

measures that are summarized by North 

American Industry Classification 

System (NAICS) industry for the U.S., 

states, metropolitan areas, counties, and 

economic places. Data include details 

on the product composition of industry 

sales, receipts, revenue, or shipments, 

and on a great variety of industryspecific subjects. Additionally, the 

Economic Census produces statistics 

about businesses in Puerto Rico, 

American Samoa, the Commonwealth of 

the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, 

and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and it 

provides data on selected specialinterest topics, including the 

characteristics of business owners, 

domestic freight shipments, and 

business expenses. Published data cover 

close to 1,000 types of businesses, 

approximately 8,000 goods and services, 

every state and territory, the District of 

Columbia, over 3,000 counties and 

15,000 cities and towns. (Geographic 

levels shown vary by NAICS sector.) 

The Economic Census is the most 

comprehensive measure of the U.S. 

economy, providing industry and 

market statistics at the national, state, 

and local levels. It provides information 

on business locations, the workforce, 

and trillions of dollars of sales by 

product and service type. Information is 

generated for almost one thousand 

different industries and over 20 

thousand geographic areas. Economic 

Census data serve as the foundation for 

the gross domestic product (GDP) and 

other leading economic indicators for 

the nation. The Economic Census 

supplies weights and benchmarks for 

indexes of industrial production, 

productivity, and prices; and provides 

benchmarks for other Federal statistical 

series. Businesses, government, 

policymakers, academic researchers, 

trade associations, economic planning 

and development agencies, and the 

American public use Economic Census 

statistics. In addition, the Economic 

Census serves as one of the primary 

mechanisms for updating the Census 

Bureau’s database of all known 

employer business establishments. This 

database, known as the Business 

Register, serves as the source of the 

sampling frame and samples for many of 

the current business surveys conducted 

by the Census Bureau. The Economic 

Census provides updates to the industry 

classification, ownership, location, 

employment, and payroll of business 

establishments listed on the Business 

Register. 

The 2022 Economic Census will be 

the second to be conducted completely 

by electronic collection through the 

internet. The electronic instrument, 

Centurion, provides improved quality 

with automatic data checks, and is 

context-sensitive to assist the data 

provider in identifying potential 

reporting problems before submission, 

thus reducing the need for follow-up. 

Centurion is internet-based, eliminating 

the need for downloading software and 

increasing the integrity and 

confidentiality of the data. The Census 

Bureau will furnish usernames and 

passwords for Centurion to the 

organizations included in the survey, 

and an image of Centurion will be 

available on the 2022 Economic Census 

website once the Economic Census has 

launched. 

B. Economic Census Content 

The Census Bureau posted copies of 

the 2017 Economic Census forms on its 

website at: https://bhs.econ.census.gov/ 

ombpdfs/. Please take a moment to 

review the forms relevant to your 

interests and provide us with your 

comments for consideration as we 

prepare content for the 2022 

questionnaires. We are particularly 

interested in comments on the 

usefulness of existing questions for 

continued inclusion and in suggestions 

for new measures that would be 

appropriate to include in the Economic 

Census. 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of law, no person is required to respond 

to, nor shall a person be subject to a 

penalty for failure to comply with a 

collection of information subject to the 

requirements of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (PRA) unless that 

collection of information displays a 

current valid Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) control number. The 

Census Bureau, through the proper 

established procedures, will be 

obtaining an OMB control number 

under the PRA as we get closer to 

launching the program in 2022. 

Steven D. Dillingham, Director, 

Bureau of the Census, approved the 

publication of this Notice in the Federal 

Register. 

Dated: December 8, 2020. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Chief Information Officer, Commerce 

Department. 

[FR Doc. 2020–27403 Filed 12–11–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P 


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