2012 economic census will shed light on the post-recession economy
A look at the 2007 Economic Census to get a feel for what the 2012 reports will reveal.
The U.S. Census Bureau is about to kick off the latest round of a survey that can be a boon to financial writers: The Economic Census. Conducted every five years, it’s the federal measurement of the nation’s economy and businesses. I think the findings from this one will be of particular interest since the last economic census was conduction in 2007, before the financial institution melt-down, housing bust and other factors in the recession.
The bureau says 4 million U.S. businesses will receive the surveys, which will be mailed out starting this month and continuing through December. It measures all sorts of business activity, with some exclusions for agriculture, education and other sectors. Just as individuals are required to complete census questionnaires, companies are required by law to comply with this survey. The data is used by a variety of governmental agencies in addition to researchers and the general public.
Take a look at the 2007 Economic Census to get a feel for what’s in store when the new numbers start to emerge, hopefully sometime in 2013. We’ll be able to compare, for example, the number of construction workers then and now, or the number of accommodation and food-service businesses in a given ZIP code, then and now. In the meantime, you can peruse the 2007 data for story ideas you can execute anecdotally even before the 2012 stats are available.
County Business Patterns data from the U.S. Census Bureau can help you track trends in your local economy.
I would sample a variety of small and larger businesses in your community about how they expect their responses this year to be different than in 2007. (It also would be interesting to interview the actual staffers responsible for filling out the forms; how much of an effort is this process for companies?) The data is widely used by professional and trade associations; they also would be worth a check-in to underscore the importance of the survey.
Here’s the bureau’s economic census information page for businesses; the FAQ is worth perusing. And here’s the New for 2012 page; it reflects patterns of change in U.S. industries; note that all sorts of alternative energy categories have been added, while sectors on their way out, like camera stores and record stores, have lost their own classification and now are lumped in generally under an electronics category.
And here’s a source I wasn’t aware of before, the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics. It appears to be a sort of coalition/watchdog group comprised of professional associations, research institutes and others that use federal statistics; the list of member organizations also might present sources you hadn’t considered before, especially if you are looking for people to discuss pros, cons and caveats about the economic census.
Note: Reporters may tune in to an explanatory webinar on the economic census today at 1 p.m. EDT; here’s a link to the meeting information; audio also is available for dial-in access by telephone. And be sure to check out the Reynolds Center’s online, self-paced webinar, “Finding local economic stories in census data,” taught by veteran USA Today database editor Paul Overberg.