1992 CENSUS OF SERVICE INDUSTRIES Census Coverage and Methodology =>STRUCTURE AND METHOD OF ENUMERATION Firms in the 1992 Census of Service Industries were divided into the nonmail universe and mail universe. The coverage of and the method of obtaining census information from each follow: The nonmail universe consisted of firms which were not required to file a regular census return and included: All taxable nonemployers, i.e., all firms subject to Federal income tax with no paid employees during 1992. Receipts information for these firms was obtained from administrative records of other Federal agencies. Although consisting of many firms, nonemployers accounted for approximately 11-percent of total receipts of all establishments covered in the census. The census included only those service nonemployer firms which reported a receipts volume of $1,000 or more during 1992. Establishments exempt from Federal income tax with no paid employees were excluded as in previous censuses. Data for nonemployers are not included in this report but are provided in a subsequent Nonemployer Statistics report (SC92-N-1). Selected small employers, i.e., single-establishment firms with payroll below a specified cutoff. (The term "employers" refers to firms with one or more paid employees at any time during 1992 as shown in the active administrative records of other Federal agencies.) Although the payroll cutoff varied by kind of business, small employers generally included firms with less than 10 employees and represented about 10-percent of total receipts of establishments covered in the census. Data on receipts, payroll, and employment for employer firms below the payroll cutoff were derived or estimated from administrative records of other Federal agencies, except for a sample of small employer firms in classifications for which specialized data requirements precluded reliance solely on administrative records sources. This sample was included in the mail universe. The mail universe consisted of firms for which information was obtained by means of a mail canvass and included: Large employers, i.e., all multiestablishment firms, and all employer firms above the payroll size cutoff referred to in section 1b. Within this category, a report of company organization was conducted periodically to identify establishment locations of firms which operated at more than one location and to obtain information on payroll and mid-March employment at each location. The 1991 Report of Company Organization was used as a coverage check in the census. In the 1992 census, all multi-establishment firms were asked to notify the Census Bureau of any establishments for which a form was not received. Report forms were subsequently provided to the firms for these establishments. A sample of small employer firms in classifications for which specialized data precluded reliance solely on administrative records sources. These firms were sent the census mailing packages containing the appropriate 1992 questionnaire. =>METHOD OF CLASSIFYING KINDS OF BUSINESS The service industries classifications for all establishments were based on the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual (Standard Industrial Classification Manual: 1987. For sale by Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. Stock no. 041-001-00314-2). However, the method of assigning these classifications, and the level of detail at which establishments were classified, differed between the nonmail and mail universe as follows: Nonemployers were classified on the basis of information obtained from administrative records of other Federal agencies. Selected small employers were classified on the basis of the most current census kind-of-business classification available from one of the Census Bureau's current sample surveys or the 1987 census. Otherwise, the classification was obtained from administrative records of other Federal agencies. If the census or administrative record classifications proved inadequate (none corresponded to a 1992 census classification in the detail required for employers), the firm was sent a brief inquiry requesting information necessary to assign a 1992 census kind-of-business code. Establishments in the mail universe were classified on the basis of their self-designation, answers to questions on receipts by type of service provided, and other special inquiries. =>METHOD OF ASSIGNING TAX STATUS For kind-of-business classifications (SIC's7032, 792, 7991 pt., 7997, 7999 pt., 8011 pt., 8021 pt., 805, 806, 808, 809, 82, 83, 84, 873 ex. 8733, 874 ex. 8744) where there were substantial numbers of taxable and tax-exempt establishments, establishments were classified based on the Federal income tax filing requirement for the establishment or organization. This classification was based primarily on the response to an inquiry on the census questionnaire. Establishments that indicated that all or part of their income was exempt from Federal income tax under provisions of section 501 of the IRS code were classified as tax-exempt; establishments indicating no such exemption were classified as taxable. All government-operated hospitals were classified as tax- exempt. For establishments in the nonmail universe, the tax status classification was based upon the type of tax return filed by the firm or organization. For selected kind-of-business classifications (SIC's7041, 8111 pt., 86, 8733) comprised primarily of tax-exempt establishments, all establishments in those classifications were defined as tax-exempt. All establishments in the remaining kind-of-business classifications (comprised primarily of taxable establishments) were defined as taxable. =>COMPARABILITY OF THE 1987 AND 1992 CENSUSES The 1987 and 1992 censuses were conducted under similar conditions and procedures except for the following: Nonemployer Firms - In 1987, data for nonemployer firms were published for the United States, States, metropolitan areas, counties, and places in four regional reports in the Nonemployer Statistics Series (SC87-N-1 to -4). For 1992, data for nonemployers by kind of business are presented in one Nonemployer Statistics report (SC92-N-1) for the United States, States, and metropolitan areas. Nonemployer data for counties and places are available on compact-discs - read only memory (CD-ROM). Employment - In 1987, employment data withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual companies were represented with the symbol "(D)." In 1992, withheld employment data are represented with symbols that denote employment size ranges. These symbols are defined in the introductory text. Sources of receipts/revenue - In 1987, data on sources of receipts/revenue for selected industries were published with other industry-specific data in the Miscellaneous Subjects report (SC87- S-4) of the Subject Series. In 1992, sources of receipts/revenue data are presented separately in the Sources of Receipts or Revenue report (SC92-S-4) of the Subject Series. Legal form of organization - In 1987, data on the number of individual proprietorships/partnerships were published in the Geographic Area Series. In 1992, individual proprietorship/partnership data are published in the Establishment and Firm Size report (SC87-S-1) and in the Nonemployer Statistics report (SC87-N-1).