Preview of the 2022 Economic Census and Overview of Changes to NAICS and NAPCS
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Eastern

Speakers:

Michael Sprung, Economic Census Assistant Survey Director, U.S. Census Bureau

Jeremy Stash, Chief, Classification Development Branch, U.S. Census Bureau

Ian L. Thomas, Assistant Division Chief, Retail and Wholesale Trade Sectors, U.S. Census Bureau

Moderator:

Lucia Foster PhD, Chief Economist and Chief of Center for Economic Studies (CES), U.S. Census Bureau

This session will provide an overview of the 2022 Economic Census and notable improvements, updates to the standard industry and product coding systems (NAICS and NAPCS) for 2022, implementation of the coding system changes and their expected impacts.

Every five years, the U.S. Census Bureau conducts the Economic Census, the most comprehensive measure of the U.S. economy, providing industry statistics at the national, state, and local levels. Its data products serve as the cornerstone of the nation's economic statistics, providing source data for the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and other indicators of economic performance. It features information on business locations, the workforce, and trillions of dollars of sales by product and service type. Comprehensive information is generated for almost one thousand different industries, eight thousand goods and service products, and over twenty thousand geographic areas. Data collection for the 2022 Economic Census begins in January 2023 with a host of improvements and innovations.

Similarly, the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and the complementary North American Product Classification System (NAPCS) are revised on a five year cycle. The 2022 NAICS revisions removed the internet as an industry distinction in the Wholesale Trade, Retail Trade, and Information sectors, among other changes. Understanding these changes will inform data users about the impacts on results disseminated for Annual and Indicator programs as well as the Economic Census.