Dateline: 02/07/02

The Commerce Department's Census Bureau today reminded 5 million U.S. businesses that time is running out for returning 2002 Economic Census forms. Businesses that receive forms are required by law to respond. The forms are due by Feb. 12.

"The quicker businesses respond, the faster we can compile the data and provide the information needed by policy-makers and the business community alike," said Charles Louis Kincannon, director of the Census Bureau. "Meeting the deadline will save time and money for both the government and business."

The Census Bureau stressed that businesses may use the Internet to securely file their information electronically. For the first time, businesses may extract data from their own spreadsheets and drop them into electronic Windows®-based census forms, thus easing their reporting burden.

The Census Bureau has an Internet help site for businesses http://www.census.gov/econhelp. Census Bureau employees also are answering a toll-free help line [(800) 233-6136] from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday.

The economic census, taken every five years, is the benchmark for measuring 96 percent of the nation's gross domestic product. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan has called the economic census "indispensable to understanding America's economy."

In addition to federal policy-makers, state and local governments and businesses use economic census data for planning and developing new markets.

The 2002 Economic Census features many "firsts," including:

• Businesses can report electronically via the Internet;
  
  
• E-commerce will be measured for all industries;
  
  
• Information will be provided on business "supply-chain" functions;
  
  
• Businesses with "leased employees" (those whose payroll is filed with the IRS by an employee leasing company, not the company where their work is performed) will be included;
  
  
• Data will be shown by North American Product Classification System codes, including data for more than 85 service industries not previously shown;
  
  
• Direct comparability with North American Industry Classification System sectors in the 1997 Economic Census; and
  
  
• Expanded information on purchased services and customer classes.

Data on 1,000 industries will be processed during 2003, with the first results expected in early 2004. The economic census will yield more than 1,600 reports and data products for states, counties, places and some ZIP codes. Results of the most recent census are available on the Census Bureau Internet site http://www.census.gov.