This incomplete detail causes only slight understatement of county employment. Definitions of an establishment, employment, and payroll are detailed in the introductory text of each publication. The 1997 Economic Census generally uses respondent reported data. County Business Patterns uses administrative record data for small establishments. Although efforts are made to resolve significant differences in the data, differences are known to exist.
Some large companies report different activities at the same location as separate profit centers.
County Business Patterns treats each profit center as a separate establishment. The 1997 Economic Census may combine the profit centers into one establishment. This results in establishment count differences. In accordance with U.S. Code, Title 13, Section 9, no data are published that would disclose the operations of an individual employer. The number of establishments in an industry classification and the distribution of these establishments by employment-size class are not considered to be disclosures, so this information may be released even though other information is withheld from publication.