Introduction 

Some service businesses in the contiguous

United States, such as auto repair and service shops, were included in the 1929

Census of Distribution, and there was a

census of hotels for 1930, but the first

major enumeration of selected service

establishments was carried out for 1933.

Similar censuses were done for 1935, 1939

(when coverage was extended to include

Puerto Rico, Alaska, and Hawaii), and for

1948. Thereafter, the enumeration of

selected service industries became part of

the general economic data-collection program, with economic censuses, including

service industries, conducted every 5 years.

The geographic coverage of the services

census was expanded in the 1958 census,

when Guam and the Virgin Islands of the

United States were added, and again for the

1982 census, when the Northern Mariana

Islands became part of the enumeration.

The industry coverage was broadened in

the 1977 Census of Service Industries,

when the limiting word “selected” was

dropped as well, and coverage was extended again in the 1992 enumeration. 

The economic census, which includes an

enumeration of service industries, is taken

every 5 years for those years ending in “2”

and “7.” Receipts and other figures reported refer to business transacted during the

specified reference year. Title 13, United

States Code, Census, authorizes the censuses and their related surveys, and makes

response to the census and to annual surveys mandatory. (Response to most

monthly surveys is voluntary.) 

Information supplied to the Census Bureau

in response to these censuses and surveys

is confidentiality by law, and is published in

summary form only. The Census Bureau

also makes certain that no individual firm’s

operations can be identified from the statistics in the published reports, compact

discs, read-only memory (CD-ROM) products, or other electronic media. There are

heavy penalties for violating the confidentiality provisions of the law.

The censuses and surveys have generally

been conducted by mail, but the 1992 and

1997 Economic Censuses also made use of

electronic response (in the 1997 census

over 700 companies, with about 250,000

establishments, responded to the census

electronically). Census data are collected

directly from all large- and medium-size

employer firms, and from a sample of

smaller employers. Federal administrative

records are used for the remaining small

employers and for all firms with no paid

employees (“nonemployers”).

The North American Industry

Classification System (NAICS)

The unit of enumeration for the service

industries is the establishment—defined as

a single physical location that produces a

product or provides services. Prior to the

1997 Economic Census, the Census Bureau

classified business activities in its censuses

and surveys using the Standard Industrial

Classification (SIC) code, originally introduced in the 1930s and updated periodically thereafter. The 1997 Economic Census

collected, tabulated, and disseminated the

bulk of the data in terms of the new NAICS.

The NAICS was developed after extended

negotiations among the United States,

Canada, and Mexico to create an integrated

industrial classification system providing

comparable economic statistics for all three

national economies. The 1997 Economic

Census was the first major statistical activity conducted by one of the three signatory

nations to collect and publish data in terms

of the new system.

The NAICS measure of economic activity is

“production-based” (i.e., establishments

using similar production processes are

grouped together), separating economic

activity into 20 sectors, instead of the 10

“divisions” used by the SIC system. The

NAICS provides a more detailed and accurate measurement of industrial activity in

the United States, creating several new sectors comprised of specified services, and

adding over 250 new services industries to

the classification system. The SIC “Services

Division” was replaced by more specific

NAICS industrial sectors—some drawn

entirely from the Services Division, others

composed of industries taken from the SIC

Services Division combined with industries

transferred from other SIC divisions as well. 

The NAICS was introduced in Census

Bureau operations and products in the

1997 Economic Census, although, at the

request of the local area governments, the

census for the Outlying Areas (Guam,

Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands,

and the Virgin Islands of the United States)

continued to use the SIC code. The

agency’s current economic surveys programs will begin using the NAICS classifications after the 1997 census—e.g., the 1999

Service Annual Survey, which is scheduled

for publication in February 2001.

U.S. Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Issued June 2000

CFF-12

Statistics on Service Industries
1 REITs are classified in the North American Industry

Classification System (NAICS) Subsector 525, Funds,

Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles, because they are

considered investment vehicles. Establishments renting

or leasing equipment with operators are classified in

various subsectors of NAICS depending on the nature of

the services provided (e.g., transportation, construction,

agriculture). These activities are excluded from this sector because the client is paying for the expertise and

knowledge of the equipment operator, in addition to the

use of the equipment.

NAICS Services Sectors

The conversion to the NAICS led to the

reorganization of services industries, and to

the creation of six separate sectors comprised of industries drawn from the SIC

Services Division, and of industries newly

identified and classified as belonging to

one of the services sectors. These six sectors were as follows:

• Professional, Scientific, and

Technical Services (NAICS sector 54)

comprises businesses whose major

input is human capital, and that are

defined by the expertise and training of

the service provider. The sector includes

such industries as law offices, engineering services, architectural services,

advertising agencies, veterinary services,

and interior design services.

• Administrative and Support and

Waste Management and

Remediation Services (NAICS sector

56) consists of establishments performing routine support activities for the dayto-day operations of other organizations.

Activities performed include office

administration, hiring and placing of personnel, document preparation and similar clerical services, solicitation, collection, security and surveillance services,

cleaning, and waste disposal services.

• Educational Services (NAICS sector 61)

comprises establishments and training

centers, that provide instruction and

training in a wide variety of subjects,

such as schools, colleges, universities.

These establishments may be privately

or publicly owned and operated and

may provide services through diverse

settings, such as educational institutions,

the workplace, or the home through 

correspondence, television, or other

means. All industries in the sector share

this commonality of process, namely,

labor inputs of instructors with the requisite subject matter expertise and teaching ability. 

• Health Care and Social Assistance

(NAICS sector 62) comprises establishments providing health care and social

assistance to individuals. The sector

includes both health care and social

assistance because it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the boundaries of these two activities.

• Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation

(NAICS sector 71) comprises establishments that (1) are involved in producing,

promoting, or participating in live performances, events, or exhibits intended

for public viewing; (2) preserve and

exhibit objects and sites of historical,

cultural, or educational interest; and/or

(3) operate facilities or provide services

that enable patrons to participate in

recreational activities or pursue amusement, hobby, and leisure time interests. 

• Other Services (Except Public

Administration) (NAICS sector 81) consists of establishments engaged in providing services not specifically provided

for elsewhere in the classification system. The services provided include

equipment and machinery repairing,

promoting and administering religious

activities, grantmaking, advocacy, and

providing drycleaning and laundry services, personal care services, death care

services, pet care services, photofinishing services, temporary parking services,

and dating services.

The following sectors were created in

part by incorporating industries from the

former SIC Services Division or include

businesses involved with providing services or support functions in specialized

areas:

• Information (NAICS sector 51) sector

comprises establishments engaged in (1)

producing and distributing information

and cultural products, (2) providing the

means to transmit or distribute these

products as well as data or communications, and (3) processing data. 

• Finance and Insurance (NAICS sector

52) comprises establishments of firms

primarily engaged in financial transactions (transactions involving the creation,

liquidation, or change in ownership of

financial assets) and/or in facilitating

financial transactions. These establishments may engage in such activities as

(1) raising funds by taking deposits

and/or issuing securities and, in the

process, incurring liabilities, (2) pooling

of risk by underwriting insurance and

annuities, and (3) providing specialized

services facilitating or supporting financial intermediation, insurance, and

employee benefit programs. Monetary

authorities charged with monetary control are included in this sector. 

• Real Estate and Rental and Leasing

(NAICS sector 53) comprises establishments of firms primarily engaged in

renting, leasing, or otherwise allowing

the use of tangible assets (e.g., real

estate and equipment), intangible assets

(e.g., patents and trademarks), and

establishments providing related services (e.g., establishments primarily

engaged in managing real estate for others, selling, renting and/or buying real

estate for others, and appraising real

estate). This sector excludes real estate

investment trusts (REITs) and establishments primarily engaged in renting or

leasing equipment with operators.1

• Management of Companies and

Enterprises (NAICS sector 55) sector

consists of establishments that hold the

securities of (or other equity interests 

in) companies and enterprises for the

purpose of owning a controlling interest;

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U.S. Census Bureau CFF-12 3

• Professional, Scientific, and Technical

Services

• Administrative and Support and

Waste Management and Remediation

Services

• Educational Services

• Health Care and Social Assistance

• Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation

• Information

• Finance and Insurance

• Real Estate and Rental and Leasing

• Management of Companies and

Enterprises

• Accommodation and Foodservices

• Other Services (Except Public

Administration)

• Legal form of organization

• Number of employees

• Payroll

• Value of sales, receipts, work done, or

equivalent

For the services sectors industries the census also asked for Federal tax status (i.e.,

taxable or tax-exempt) and operating

expenses for tax-exempt organizations).

During each census reference year, a separate survey collects data on capital expenditures, depreciable assets, and selected

operating expenses. The results are tabulated at the national level, and are published in Business Expenses, part of the

Company Statistics series (see below).

The annual services surveys collect data on

tax and organization status, revenue,

expenses, number of locations by kind of

business, and selected industry-specific

items (such as telephone communications

revenue).

Who Uses Services Sectors

Data?

The services sectors data from the economic census provide benchmark data for compiling national income accounts and for

forecasting future trends. Accordingly, they

are of concern to government at all levels,

and management in various industries use

them to gauge potential markets, project

and analyze sales, assign territories, allocate advertising, and plan new outlets.

Trade and professional organizations, market researchers, and chambers of commerce use the information to study economic conditions. Business operators of all

kinds can compare their operations with

those tabulated for their own or for other

areas.

The current services survey data are used

by the Federal Government in preparing

the national income and product accounts,

estimating expenditures for the National

Health Accounts, and as input to producer

price indexes and productivity measurements. Trade and professional organizations use the estimates to analyze industry

trends and as benchmarks for their own

statistical measures.

How the Data Are Published

Most of the services sector data are issued

on CD-ROM and online through the U.S.

Census Bureau’s American Factfinder and in

PDF format at http://www.census.gov.

Only selected highlights are published in

printed reports. Printed products may be

ordered by mail, telephone, and the

Internet from—

Superintendent of Documents

U.S. Government Printing Office

P.O. Box 371954

Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954 

Telephone: 202-512-1800

Fax: 202-512-2250

http://www.gpo.gov

Electronic products may be purchased by

mail from—

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Census Bureau (MS1921)

P.O. Box 277943

Atlanta, GA 30384-7943

or influencing management decisions; or

establishments (except government

establishments) that administer, oversee,

and manage establishments of the company or enterprise and that normally

undertake the strategic or organizational

planning and decisionmaking role of the

company or enterprise.

• Accommodation and Foodservices

(NAICS sector 72). This sector comprises establishments providing customers

with lodging and/or preparing meals,

snacks, and beverages for immediate

consumption. (Civic and social organizations, amusement and recreation parks,

theaters, and other recreation and entertainment facilities providing food and

beverage services are excluded from this

sector.)

Census Geography

Census data on most of the subjects listed

in the next section are available for the

United States, states, the District of

Columbia, metropolitan areas (MAs), Puerto

Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United

States, the Northern Mariana Islands, U.S.

counties, incorporated places of 2,500 or

more inhabitants, and, on CD-ROM only, by

five-digit ZIP Codes.

What Subjects Are Covered

by the Census and Surveys?

The economic census collected basic 

general data as well as sector- or industryspecific information from respondents. 

The basic data items asked of all respondents included— 

• Kind of business: the Census Bureau

used the SIC code classification within

the Services Division prior to 1997,

thereafter, businesses were classified

within the following NAICS sectors: 
Electronic products may be ordered by telephone or fax from—

Administrative and Customer

Services Division

Customer Services Branch

U.S. Census Bureau

Washington, DC 20233

Telephone: 301-457-4100

Fax: 888-249-7295 or 

301-457-3842

The U.S. Census Bureau’s Customer

Services Branch can print and bind any PDF

report on demand, priced at $25 or more

per report, depending upon the number of

pages. (A list of reports, with page counts,

is available via the U.S. Census Bureau’s

Internet site (http://www.census.gov), in

the economic census section of the

Catalog: Publications.)

Censuses

The Economic Census, which occurs in

years ending in “2” and “7,” enumerates all

establishments in the United States and the

Outlying Areas (Puerto Rico, Guam, the

Virgin Islands of the United States, and the

Northern Mariana Islands).

Data collected in the 1997 Economic

Census were published in the following

economy-wide reports between 1999 and

2000:

• Core Business Statistics

• Advance Report. This report contains

the first data ever published on a

NAICS basis and contains national

data at the sector and subsector levels. The NAICS table is limited to

1997 data, but a separate, Standard

Industrial Classification (SIC) codebased table shows 1992 and 1997

figures at the two-digit SIC level,

which permits calculation of percentage change in the number of establishments, sales/receipts/revenue/

shipments, annual payroll, and paid

employees over the 5-year period.

• Comparative Statistics. This report

supersedes the Advance Report. It

presents two-, three-, and four-digit

SIC summaries at the U.S. level and

two-digit SIC data at the state level.

• Bridge Between NAICS and SIC. The

Bridge Between NAICS and SIC presents 1997 data cross-tabulated by the

old and new classification systems

identifying the lowest common

denominator between the two systems.

• Nonemployer Statistics. This report

summarizes the number of establishments and sales and receipts of companies with no paid employees.

• Auxiliary Establishments. This report

presents data for auxiliaries, except 

corporate, subsidiary, and regional 

managing offices. These are establishments that are involved in providing

support services for other establishments of the enterprise. Generally, these

support services are not intended for

use outside the enterprise. In NAICS,

these establishments are classified

according to the establishment’s primary

activity—i.e., an establishment providing

data processing services for an enterprise is classified as NAICS 51421, Data

Processing Services. It shows data on

the number of auxiliaries and payroll,

number of employees by type of industry served, and sales/receipts.

• Company Statistics. Data compiled from

the 1997 industry-wide programs are

released as part of the Company

Statistics Series. Each of these reports

includes data by industrial classification

and/or geographic areas (states, metropolitan areas, counties, and places), size

of firm (employment and receipts), and

legal form of organization (individual

proprietorships, partnerships, and 

corporations). This series of seven

reports includes— 

• Company Summary 

• Women

• Black

• Hispanic

• Asians and Pacific Islanders

• American Indians and Alaska Natives

• Summary

An eighth report, Business Expenses,

shows operating expenses data at the

national level for SIC-based service

industries and travel industries.

Extensive final census data appear in the

following series for each of the services

sectors:

• Geographic Area Report. This series

presents sources of revenue data for

establishments for each sector, most

containing 52 reports—one for each

state, the District of Columbia, and the

United States as a whole. 

• Subject Series.

• Source of Receipts or Revenue. This

report presents sources of of revenue

data for establishments by kind of

business. Data are presented for the

United States

• Establishment and Firm Size

(Including Legal Form of

Organization). This report presents

revenue, payroll, and employment

data for the United States by revenue

size, by employment size, and by

legal form of organization for establishments; and by revenue size

(including concentration by largest

firms), by employment size, and by

number of establishments operated

(single- and multiestablishment) for

firms.

• Miscellaneous Subjects. This report

presents data for establishments for a

variety of industry-specific questions.

Presentation of data varies by kind of

business.

4 CFF-12 U.S. Census Bureau
U.S. Census Bureau CFF-12 5

trade, and service industries. In addition

to data for the Virgin Islands as a whole,

statistics are presented for St. Thomas

and St. John (combined to prevent disclosure problems), St. Croix and the

towns of Charlotte Amalie, Christiansted,

and Frederiksted.

• Guam. This report presents data by

kind of business for construction industries, manufacturing, retail trade, wholesale trade, and service industries. Tables

present data for Guam and its election

districts.

• Northern Mariana Islands. This report

presents data by kind of business for

construction industries, manufacturing,

retail trade, wholesale trade, and service

industries. Tables present data for the

Northern Mariana Islands and the four

municipalities.

Surveys

The principal services survey undertaken

by the U.S. Census Bureau is the Service

Annual Survey, covering companies primarily engaged in providing services to individuals, businesses, and governments.

(The current services survey program 

continued to use the SIC code industrial

classification system through data-year

1998; the NAICS was implemented for

1999 and subsequent data years.) Data

from this survey were published in the

Service Annual Survey [year] series BS,

which includes of receipts of selected service industries, including hospitals, hotels

and motels, amusement services, and legal,

personnel, health, and repair services.

Estimates of current- and previous-year

receipts, year-to-year percentage changes,

and the corresponding estimated coefficient of variations are shown. The report

also presents data for selected kinds of

business by Federal income-tax status (taxable and tax-exempt). The Service Annual

Survey reports are issued 12 months after

the end of the survey year.

Other Aids and Sources of

Data 

• County Business Patterns. This is an

annual series that covers most of the

Nation’s economic activity. Data are provided in the following NAICS economic

sectors: forestry, fishing, hunting, and

agriculture support; mining; utilities; construction; manufacturing; wholesale

trade; retail trade; transportation and

warehousing; information; finance and

insurance; real estate and rental and

leasing; professional, scientific, and 

technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative

and support and waste management

and remediation services; education

services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and foodservices;

and other services (except public administration). The series is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas;

analyzing economic changes over time;

and as a benchmark for statistical series,

surveys, and databases between economic censuses. The series serves various business uses such as analyzing

market potential, measuring the effectiveness of sales and advertising programs, setting sales quotas, and developing budgets. The data are also used

by government agencies for administration and planning.

• More information about the scope, coverage, classification system, data items,

and publications for each of the economic censuses and related surveys are

published in the Guide to the 1997

Economic Census and Related Statistics

(available at http://www.census.gov/

epcd/www/guide.html); The Statistical

Abstract of the United States; the 

• Summary. After the publication of all

area and subject reports, a single volume was published summarizing the

most widely used statistics from all of

the previously issued Real Estate and

Rental and Leasing sector reports.

• ZIP Code Statistics reports were published for selected sectors, including all

of Services Sectors except Finance and

Insurance and Real Estate and Rental and

Leasing, for the United States, each state,

and the District of Columbia, with data

by five-digit ZIP Codes for taxable establishments with payroll. The reports contained data on number of establishments in various receipts- and employment-size groups, by NAICS kind of business. 

• Economic Census of the Outlying Areas:

Construction, Manufacturing, Wholesale,

Retail, and Service Industries. (Because

the Outlying Areas will not adopt the

NAICS until 2002, establishments 

currently categorized in NAICS sector 62,

“Health Care and Social Assistance,” are

instead found in “Services,” SIC Major

Group 80, “Health Services.”)

• Puerto Rico. Retail data for Puerto

Rico are published in the following

two reports:

• Geographic Area Statistics. This

report contains general statistics

for industry groups by the

municipio and commercial

region level.

• Subject Series. This report contains data on commodity line

sales by kind of business, and

merchandise line sales by kind

of business.

• Virgin Islands of the United States.

This report presents data by kind of

business for construction industries,

manufactures, retail trade, wholesale
periodic County and City Data Book

(latest, 1994), State and Metropolitan

Area Data Book (latest, 1998), Historical

Statistics of the United States From

Colonial Times to 1970 (available from

the Government Printing Office, out-ofprint commercially), and County and

State Profiles (latest, 1997). Census and

survey data also appear in trade journals,

textbooks, and other secondary sources.

Additional information on the methodology, procedures, and history of the economic censuses is published in the

History of the 1997 Economic Census

(available in printed form from the GPO;

the History also will be made available

on the web at http://www.census.gov).

• Business and Industry Data Centers

(BIDCs) are the result of a U.S. Census

Bureau pilot project launched in 1988.

The U.S. Census Bureau and other

Federal agencies furnish economic data

and related assistance and training to aid

a number of BIDCs in furthering economic development in their states. 

• All of the states, plus the District of

Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the

Virgin Islands of the United States have

Census State Data Centers that assist the

public with printed and electronic census

data. Additionally, some states also have

business and industry data centers,

which specialize in economic data.

• A network of Regional Data Centers

(RDCs) and the Suitland, MD, research

facility offer qualified researchers restricted access, in secure environments, to

data collected by the U.S. Census

Bureau’s surveys and censuses that are

not included within the agency’s publication program. Researchers must submit

research proposals to the RDCs and the

U.S. Census Bureau for review and

approval. Upon approval, researchers

are subject to the confidentiality restrictions of Title 13, United States CodeCensus. 

Factfinder for the Nation

General information about the U.S. Census

Bureau’s various statistical programs are

contained in the publications of the

Factfinder for the Nation series. Inquiries

and suggestions about the services statistics program and other U.S. Census Bureau

activities are invited. Write to— 

U.S. Census Bureau

Office of the Director

Washington, DC 20233

6 CFF-12 U.S. Census Bureau