County Business Patterns: 2009 

U.S., States, Counties, Puerto Rico 

and the Island Areas

Census Bureau Economic Data

June 30, 2011

U.S. Census Bureau
2

Presenters

Host Stanley J. Rolark

Chief, Public Information Office

U.S. Census Bureau

Survey findings Shirin Ahmed

Division Chief, Economic Planning and Coordination Division

U.S. Census Bureau

Survey uses Stephen H. Andrews

Senior Economist

Assistant to the Chief

National Income and Wealth Division

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)

June 30, 2011
3

Resources for Today’s 

News Conference

Go to www.census.gov and click on the 

“Releases” link next to Newsroom. The 

County Business Patterns release is under 

“Other Releases” 

• Today’s PowerPoint Presentation

• News Release

• Link to the County Business Patterns Home Page

http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/ June 30, 2011
County Business Patterns (CBP) Overview

• County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides economic 

data by industry for most establishments with paid employees

• Data items include the number of Establishments, Employment, 

First-quarter Payroll, and Annual Payroll

• Includes data by Employment Size and Legal Form of Organization

• More than 1,000 NAICS industries are covered

http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/ June 30, 2011 4
5

County Business Patterns Overview -

Continued

• Data for businesses originates from administrative records received from 

the Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration, and Bureau 

of Labor Statistics.

• Other data sources for multi-location firms are provided from the:

- Annual Report of Organization Survey, and

- Economic Census (conducted every 5 years) 

http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/ June 30, 2011
6

County Business Patterns Overview -

Continued

• Today’s release covers data at the U.S., State, County, and 

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) level; ZIP Code level data will 

be released in a few weeks

• Data for the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are also 

available 

• Today marks the initial release of data on the Island Areas of 

American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern 

Mariana Islands (CNMI), and the U.S. Virgin Islands 

http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/ June 30, 2011
http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/ June 30, 2011 7

A Look at the 2009 Statistics from 

County Business Patterns
http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/ June 30, 2011 8

2009 County Business Patterns – U.S. 

and States

• The number of U.S. Businesses with paid employees was 7.4 

million in 2009; a decline of 2.2 percent from the previous year

• A total of 168,000 businesses were lost between 2008 and 2009

• The total number of employees fell by more than 5 percent between 

2008 and 2009; a decrease of over 6 million
http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/ June 30, 2011 9

2009 County Business Patterns – U.S. 

and States (Continued)

• Of all states, Nevada and Arizona had the highest percentages of 

employment decline (9.9 and 9.1 percent); this represented losses of 

over 113,000 employees in Nevada and 211,000 employees in 

Arizona

• At the state level, only Alaska and the District of Columbia gained 

employees from the previous year; with increases of 1.8 percent and 

0.1 percent
http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/ June 30, 2011 10

-8.0% -6.0% -4.0% -2.0% 0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0%

Other Services (except Public Administration)

Accommodation and Food Services

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation

Health Care and Social Assistance

Educational Services

Administrative and Support and Waste Management and ...

Management of Companies and Enterprises

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

Real Estate and Rental and Leasing

Finance and Insurance

Information

Transportation and Warehousing

Retail Trade

Wholesale Trade

Manufacturing

Construction

Utilities

Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction

Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting

US Total

Change in Establishments by Industry, 2008 and 2009

2008

2009
http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/ June 30, 2011 11

Industry Sectors with the Largest Losses in Employment: 2009

Industry Sectors with the Largest Gains in Employment: 2009

NAICS 

Subsector Industry Description 2009 Employment

2008 

Employment

Employment 

Change

561 Administrative and support services 8,712,512 9,857,294 -1,144,782

238 Specialty trade contractors 3,781,406 4,495,206 -713,800

NAICS 

Subsector Industry Description 2009 Employment

2008 

Employment

Employment 

Change

621 Ambulatory health care services 6,040,265 5,886,549 153,716

622 Hospitals 5,658,923 5,585,159 73,764
http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/ June 30, 2011 12

2009 County Business Patterns –

Counties

Among the 50 largest counties based on number of establishments:

• Maricopa County, Arizona had a decline of 4.1 percent in the total 

number of establishments in 2009

• Kings County, New York gained 1,299 business locations; a 2.9 

percent increase

• Clark County, Nevada lost nearly 79,000 employees in 2009; a 

decline of 9.4 percent
Los 

Angeles 

Co., CA

Cook Co., 

IL

New 

York Co., 

NY

Harris 

Co., TX

Maricopa 

Co., AZ

Orange 

Co., CA

Dallas 

Co., TX

San 

Diego 

Co., CA

King Co., 

WA

Santa 

Clara Co., 

CA

Number of Employees 3,703,233 2,245,334 1,996,595 1,809,432 1,451,978 1,336,341 1,253,122 1,119,643 1,032,598 850,828

0

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

3,500,000

4,000,000

Employees

Number of Employees for the Top 10 U.S. Counties

http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/ June 30, 2011 13
http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/ June 30, 2011 14

Annual Payroll (thousands)

Average Annual Payroll per 

Employee

County, State 2009 2008 % diff 2009 2008 % diff

New York County, New York $180,587,616 $214,771,189 -15.9% $90,448 $102,086 -11.4%

Santa Clara County, California $64,936,275 $70,802,629 -8.3% $76,321 $76,950 -0.8%

Suffolk County, Massachusetts $38,056,611 $41,451,218 -8.2% $67,605 $70,824 -4.5%

King County, Washington $59,567,568 $61,519,267 -3.2% $57,687 $56,657 1.8%

Fulton County, Georgia $40,606,341 $42,322,191 -4.1% $56,807 $56,056 1.3%

Harris County, Texas $97,474,729 $101,506,572 -4.0% $53,870 $55,135 -2.3%

Hennepin County, Minnesota $43,128,263 $46,503,931 -7.3% $52,323 $55,417 -5.6%

Cook County, Illinois $116,535,088 $125,782,667 -7.4% $51,901 $53,052 -2.2%

Oakland County, Michigan $30,924,795 $34,692,565 -10.9% $50,294 $51,276 -1.9%

Mecklenburg County, North Carolina $25,514,656 $27,675,752 -7.8% $48,042 $49,416 -2.8%

Payroll by County*

* Based on a selection of the 50 largest counties
15

2009 County Business Patterns –

Puerto Rico and the Island Areas

• In accordance with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 

2009 (ARRA), County Business Patterns: 2009 has expanded to 

include economic data for the following four Island Areas:

- American Samoa

- Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

- Guam

- U.S. Virgin Islands

• Puerto Rico statistics were first published annually in the County 

Business Patterns in 1978

http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/ June 30, 2011
16

2009 County Business Patterns -

Island Areas

• American Samoa had 458 establishments with total annual payroll of 

$120 million

• Eastern District in American Samoa showed the largest employment on 

that island with a total of 7,577 employees

• The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands had 1,232 

establishments with total annual payroll of $131 million

• Saipan Municipality in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

Islands, showed the largest number of employees with more than 9,000 

http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/ June 30, 2011
http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/ June 30, 2011 17

Total Establishments

Puerto Rico and the Island Areas

Establishments

2009 2008

Puerto Rico 45,549 46,348 

American Samoa 458 445 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 1,232 1,229 

Guam 3,235 3,226 

U.S. Virgin Islands 2,845 2,805 
http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/ June 30, 2011 18

Total Employment and Annual Payroll Data 

Puerto Rico and the Island Areas

2009

Employment

Annual Payroll 

(thousands)

Puerto Rico 702,063 $16,241,593

American Samoa 9,991 $120,202 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 10,188 $131,407 

Guam 50,270 $1,185,524 

U.S. Virgin Islands 32,512 $1,017,787 
http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/ June 30, 2011 19

Top 5 Industries by Employment 

for Puerto Rico

NAICS Sector Industry Description Employment

Annual Payroll 

(thousands)

44 Retail Trade 126,053 $2,161,956

31 Manufacturing 96,509 $3,183,077

62 Health Care and Social Assistance 79,471 $1,719,008

72 Accommodation and Food Services 71,957 $943,224

56

Administrative and Support and Waste 

Management and Remediation Services 69,515 $1,140,668
http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/ June 30, 2011 20

32%

15%

8%

7%

6%

32%

Percentage of Employment by Industry 

for CNMI

72- Accommodation and Food 

Services, 32%

44- Retail Trade, 15%

56- Administrative and Support and 

Waste Management and 

Remediation Services, 8%

31- Manufacturing, 7%

48- Transporation and Warehousing, 

6%

All Other, 32%
http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/ June 30, 2011 21

31- Manufacturing

54%

44- Retail Trade

13%

All Other

33%

Percentage of Employment by Industry

for American Samoa
http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/ June 30, 2011 22

Top 5 Industries by Employment 

for Guam 

NAICS Sector Industry Description Employment

Annual Payroll 

(thousands)

72 Accommodation and Food Services 11,352 $167,673

44 Retail Trade 8,257 $170,034

23 Construction 5,552 $120,225

56

Administrative and Support and Waste 

Management and Remediation Services 3,662 $70,822

62 Health Care and Social Assistance 3,224 $108,699
http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/ June 30, 2011 23

Top 5 Industries by Employment for the

U.S. Virgin Islands 

NAICS Sector Industry Description Employment

Annual Payroll 

(thousands)

44 Retail Trade 6,751 $139,637

72 Accommodation and Food Services 6,569 $144,940

23 Construction 2,316 $73,125

31 Manufacturing 2,285 $175,970

81 Other Services (except Public Administration) 2,093 $61,683

*Special thanks to the governments of American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands 

and the U.S. Virgin Islands for their assistance in our efforts to publish 2009 Island Areas 

data.
County Business Patterns

Data Uses By

Bureau of Economic Analysis

Stephen Andrews

Release of 2009 County Business Patterns

Census Bureau

June 30, 2011
bea.gov

Regional Uses

 Regional Income Division

 Responsible for estimating State and Local income 

across all industrial activities 

 Uses Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages 

 Uses CBP to estimate for missing income activities 

 Religious Organizations

 Educational Services
bea.gov

Regional Income Example
bea.gov

National Uses

 Income

 Regional Sums to National

 Any table that displays compensation-related income

 Gross Domestic Income by Type of Income (e.g., table 1.10)

 Compensation of Employees by Industry (e.g., table 6.2D)

 National Income Additional Uses

 By Legal Form of Organization

 Corporations, S-Corporations, Sole Proprietorships, Partnerships, Non-profits, 

Government, Other

 National Income by Sector, LFO, and Type of Income (e.g., table 1.13)

 Nonfarm Proprietors' Income by Industry (e.g., table 6.12D)
bea.gov

National Uses Cont’d

 Capital Stock Measurement

 Private Fixed Investment

 Investment in Fixed Assets and Consumer Durable Goods (e.g., table 1.5)

 Investment in Private Fixed Assets, Equipment and Software, and 

Structures by Type (e.g., table 2.7)

 By Legal Form of Organization

 Current-Cost Net Stock of Private Nonresidential Fixed Assets by Industry 

Group and Legal Form of Organization (e.g., table 4.1)

 Current-Cost Net Stock of Private Fixed Assets by Industry Group and 

Legal Form of Organization (e.g., table 6.1)
bea.gov

Potential Uses in the Future

 GDP for U.S. Territories

 Guam

 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

 U.S. Virgin Islands

 American Samoa

 Look forward to a productive relationship in the coming 

years
http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/ June 30, 2011 30

Questions? 
Upcoming Releases from the U.S. 

Census Bureau

• Today – Release of 2010 Summary File 1 

for Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, 

Nebraska and North Carolina

• Late July – 2009 Nonemployer 

Statistics
http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/ June 30, 2011 32

Contact Information

U.S. Census Bureau

Public Information Office

Phone: 301-763-3030

www.census.gov

Bureau of Economic Analysis

Public Affairs Office

Phone: 202-482-6272

www.bea.gov