Economic Census 2002: Information, Industry Series. Internet Service Providers, Web Search Portals, and Data Processing Services

摘要

The economic census is the major source of facts about the structure and functioning of the nation's economy. It provides essential information for government, business, industry, and the general public. Title 13 of the United States Code (Sections 131, 191, and 224) directs the Census Bureau to take the economic census every 5 years, covering years ending in '2' and '7.' The economic census furnishes an important part of the framework for such composite measures as the gross domestic product estimates, input/output measures, production and price indexes, and other statistical series that measure short-term changes in economic conditions. Specific uses of economic census data include the following: Policymaking agencies of the federal government use the data to monitor economic activity and to assess the effectiveness of policies; State and local governments use the data to assess business activities and tax bases within their jurisdictions and to develop programs to attract business; Trade associations study trends in their own and competing industries, which allows them to keep their members informed of market changes; and Individual businesses use the data to locate potential markets and to analyze their own production and sales performance relative to industry or area averages. The Information sector (sector 51) comprises establishments engaged in the following processes: (a) producing and distributing information and cultural products, (b) providing the means to transmit or distribute these products as well as data or communications, and (c) processing data. The main components of this sector are the publishing industries, including software publishing, and both traditional publishing and publishing exclusively over the Internet; the telecommunications industries; the industries known as Internet service providers and Web search portals, data processing industries, and the information services industries.