Economic Census

This is the biggest of the economic data activities undertaken by the Census Bureau. The rapid industrial growth of the United States in the early nineteenth century encouraged the federal government to seek more detailed information on the diverse types of manufacturing in the country. The U.S. marshals were asked to gather this information in the form of additional questions while conducting the 1810 population census. Just after the establishment of a permanent U.S. Census Bureau (1902), Congress authorized the first of a separate Census of Manufactures to be taken every five years, beginning in 1905.  

Since the 1930s, with the Census of Manufactures and other reports on economic activity, the complexity and amount of this data has grown significantly. Information is reported by industry codes and geographically by state with industry code breakdowns. In addition to displaying data by industry codes, the Economic Census also shows data by Product Codes that can be even more specific. For example, if one were tracking pharmacies, one would use the industry codes for independent pharmacies. But to capture those supermarkets with pharmacies, one would use the industry codes for supermarkets and then look for the product code for those supermarkets that have pharmacies.