Nov 5

Written by: Jeremy Glowacki
11/5/2007 4:00 PM 

I've always known about the U.S. Census. In fact I just participated in my first one. But I never knew there was a separate Economic Census for businesses just like the one you're probably running.

In December, businesses in our industry will receive 2007 Economic Census forms from the U.S. Census Bureau. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke has called this census "indispensable to understanding America's economy."

Taken every five years, the Economic Census "assures the accuracy of the statistics we rely on for sound economic policy and for successful business planning," Bernanke said.

There are a lot of interesting facts from the last Economic Census, available about our industry at business.census.gov. Examples there illustrate how the data are used by local businesses for marketing and planning, as well as by government agencies and researchers.

Go check it out for yourself, but most importantly fill out your census form next month. It's important that our industry shows up on the map.