SC92LWP.INT 1992 CENSUS OF SERVICE INDUSTRIES Introduction =>GENERAL The 1992 Census of Service Industries, part of the 1992 Economic Census, covered service industries as defined in Division I of the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual (Standard Industrial Classification Manual: 1987. For sale by Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. Stock No. 041-001-00314-2) except Elementary and Secondary Schools (SIC 821), Colleges, Universities, Professional Schools, and Junior Colleges (SIC 822), Labor Unions and Similar Labor Organizations (SIC 863), Political Organizations (SIC 865), Religious Organizations (SIC 866), and Private Households (SIC 881). The census also excluded governmental establishments classified in the covered industries, except for government-operated hospitals which were included. Data are presented for establishments in the following classifications: SIC code Title 70 Hotels, rooming houses, camps, and other lodging places 72 Personal services 73 Business services 75 Automotive repair, services, and parking 76 Miscellaneous repair services 78 Motion pictures 79 Amusement and recreation services 80 Health services 81 Legal services 823, 4, 9 Selected educational services 83 Social services 84 Museums, art galleries, and botanical and zoological gardens 861, 2, 4, 9 Selected membership organizations 87 Engineering, accounting, research, management, and related services 89 Services, not elsewhere classified This series of reports presents data for service establishments of firms subject to Federal income tax and (in separate files) of firms which are exempt from Federal income tax under provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. Only establishments with some payroll during the year are included. Many of the "kinds of business or operation" included in this report are not thought of as commercial businesses and the terms (such as "business," "establishment," and "firm") used to describe them may not be descriptive of such services, particularly for not-for-profit and professional services. However, these terms are applied to all "kinds of business or operation" in order to maintain conformity in the measures of the production and delivery of goods and services and in the presentation of data. The basic tabulations in this report do not include data for establishments which are auxiliary (primary function is providing a service, such as warehousing or bookkeeping) to service establishments within the same organization. Data for auxiliaries are presented in a subsequent report issued as part of the 1992 Enterprise Statistics reports. For the 1992 Census of Service Industries, large- and medium-size firms, plus all firms known to operate more than one establishment, were sent questionnaires to be completed and returned to the Census Bureau by mail. For most very small firms, including those with no paid employees, data from existing administrative records of other Federal agencies were used instead. These records provided basic information on location, kind of business, receipts, payroll, number of employees, and legal form of organization. In addition, more detailed information for selected kinds of business was obtained on the various questionnaires. For a more detailed explanation see census coverage and methodology in DocView under Service Industries. =>CENSUS DISCLOSURE RULES In accordance with Federal law governing census reports, no data are published that would disclose the operations of an individual establishment or business. However, the number of establishments in a kind-of-business classification is not considered a disclosure, so this information may be released even though other information is withheld. =>GEOGRAPHIC AREAS COVERED This report series presents data for the following areas: 1. The United States as a whole. 2. Each State and the District of Columbia. 3. Each consolidated metropolitan statistical area (CMSA) and primary metropolitan statistical area (PMSA) defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as of June 30, 1993. A CMSA is an area used to facilitate the presentation and analysis of data for large concentrations of metropolitan populations. It includes two or more contiguous PMSA's which have a population of at least 1,000,000 (According to the 1990 Census of Population or subsequent special census) and which meet specific criteria of urban character and of social and economic integration. 4. Each metropolitan statistical area (MSA) defined by the OMB as of June 30, 1993. An MSA is an integrated economic and social unit with a population nucleus of at least 50,000 inhabitants (According to the 1990 Census of Population or subsequent special census). Each MSA consists of one or more counties meeting standards of metropolitan character; in New England, cities and towns rather than counties are the component geographic units. =>DOLLAR VALUES All dollar values presented in this report are expressed in current dollars, i.e., 1992 data are expressed in 1992 dollars and 1987 data in 1987 dollars. Consequently, when making comparisons to prior years, users of the data should consider the inflation that has occurred. =>RELIABILITY OF DATA The data presented on various subjects included in this report are based, in part, upon a sample and, therefore, are subject to both sampling errors and nonsampling errors. Specifically, these data are estimated based on information obtained from census questionnaires mailed to all large employers and to a sample of small employers in the service universe. Sampling errors affect these estimates insofar as they may differ from results that would be obtained from a complete enumeration. Nonsampling errors can be attributed to many sources: inability to identify all cases in the actual universe; definition and classification difficulties; differences in the interpretation of questions; errors in recording or coding the data obtained; and other errors of collection, response, coverage, processing, and estimation for missing or misreported data. The reliability of data estimates on the selected topics presented in this report is determined by the joint effects of the various nonsampling errors. No direct measurement of these effects has been obtained except for estimation for missing or misreported data; however, precautionary steps were taken in all phases of the collection, processing, and tabulation of the data in an effort to minimize the effects of nonsampling errors. =>SPECIAL TABULATIONS Special tabulations of data collected in the 1992 Census of Service Industries may be obtained, depending on availability of time and personnel, on diskette, computer tape, or in tabular form. The data will be in summary form and subject to the same rules prohibiting disclosure of confidential information (including name, address, kind of business, or other data for individual business establishments or companies) as are the regular publications. Special tabulations are prepared on a cost basis. A request for a cost estimate, as well as exact specifications on the type and format of the data to be provided, should be directed to the Chief, Services Division, Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC 20233. To discuss a special tabulation before submitting specifications, call 1-800-541-8345.