Thursday, July 12, 2007

Miscellaneous Subjects

Are you familiar with the term "Easter egg" when it comes to DVDs? It means that there is some hidden feature that is not immediately apparent. I feel the same way about the Miscellaneous Subjects in the 2002 Economic Census. Unlike the Product Lines, and Establishment and Firm Size, you don't know what you're going to get until you get there. Other Services (NAICS 81), for instances, has Grants and Other Payments for Religious/Grantmaking/Civic/Professional Groups, plus Transferred Contributions for the same groups. In Administrative (NAICS 56), there are numbers for employee leasing. In the massive Professional section (NAICS 54), you'll find, among other things, gross billings for ad agencies.

The ones I use most often are under Accommodations and Food Service (NAICS 72). On the food side: average cost per meal, seating capacity, menu type, day-part sales and franchises. For accommodations: number and size of guest rooms.

What obscure facts will YOU find?

2 comments:

Leonard Gaines said...

I've tried to make it easy for people to figure out what's included in the Miscellaneous Subject reports. A certain book, I'm not allowed to mention here, has a table listing all of the topics (not necessarily the geographic detail and exact tables) included these reports.

Roger Owen Green said...

Oh, Lenny, I'm not sure you're restricted on this informal site from mentioning Industry Research Using the Economic Census: How to Find It, How to Use It (Hardcover)
by Jennifer C. Boettcher and Leonard M. Gaines, are you?

http://tinyurl.com/yqr34t