Business census — Unlike many traditional data sets that rely on sampling and use a small subset of data to draw inferences about a larger population, YE is a census of U.S. businesses. YE’s data comes from the National Establishment Time Series (NETS), a collaboration between Walls & Associates in Oakland, Calif., and Dun and Bradstreet (D&B).A longitudinal database, NETS follows the performance of more than 37 million U.S. establishments from 1990 to the present. Thus, YE provides a dynamic view of the U.S. economy by showing changes at individual establishments over time — and dives down to the community level to track business activity.

Census Statistics of U.S. Businesses (SUSB) — An annual series that provides national and sub-national data on the distribution of economic data by size and industry. The series excludes data on nonemployer businesses, private households, railroads, agricultural production, and postal workers.

Census Business Information Tracking (BITS) — BITS is a longitudinal database that shows how much of the annual change in SUSB establishment and employment numbers was due to establishment births, deaths, expansions and contractions.

Composition section — YE’s Composition section shows how establishments and jobs are distributed according to the three employer sectors and various growth stages. This section provides a baseline for seeing what types of employers and stages exist in a region — and their share of establishments and jobs.

Default view — Reflects the last three-year period.

Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) Number (DUNS) — NETS and YourEconomy data is built by tracking individual establishments according to their DUNS number. A DUNS number starts with establishments as they open and stays with them as they grow, contract, move, and close. Each year Dun & Bradstreet contacts businesses and asks them to report changes in activity, employment and revenue.

Establishment — An economic unit that produces goods or services at a single physical location. An establishment in YE has a unique DUNS number. Using establishments, YE can accurately study labor markets across establishments and across industries in local communities and across the U.S.

Factor — To measure growth accurately, YourEconomy.org follows the net change in establishments and jobs with the following three factors: opened, relocated, and expanded. The opened factor reflects the difference between births and deaths (openings and closings) of establishments. The expanded factor reflects the difference between establishments that have increased jobs compared to those that have contracted their labor force. And the relocated factor looks at establishments that have moved into a designated region versus those that have left the region, along with the resulting impact on jobs.

FIPS codes (state)— 01-Alabama, 02-Alaska, 04-Arizona, 05-Arkansas, 06-California, 08-Colorado, 09-Connecticut, 10-Delaware, 12-Florida, 13-Georgia, 15-Hawaii, 16-Idaho, 17-Illinois, 18-Indiana, 19-Iowa, 20-Kansas, 21-Kentucky, 22-Louisiana, 23-Maine, 24-Maryland, 25-Massachusetts, 26-Michigan, 27-Minnesota, 28-Mississippi, 29-Missouri, 30-Montana, 31-Nebraska, 32-Nevada, 33-New Hampshire, 34-New Jersey, 35-New Mexico, 36-New York, 37-North Carolina, 38-North Dakota, 39-Ohio, 40-Oklahoma, 41-Oregon, 42-Pennsylvania, 44 Rhode Island, 45 South Carolina, 46-South Dakota, 47-Tennessee, 48-Texas, 49-Utah, 50-Vermont, 51-Virginia, 53-Washington, 54-West Virginia, 55-Wisconsin, and 56-Wyoming.

Firm — Most traditional data sources track business activity according to firms (a standalone establishment or a collection of all establishments owned by a parent company).

Growth section — YE’s Growth section follows openings, closings, expansions, contractions, move-ins and move-outs (factors) of establishments — and shows how this activity affects job gains and losses.

Move In (Out) — Total establishments (with corresponding jobs) that move physical location in or out of a region (county, MSA, state) for the period (year or years) being viewed.

MSA — Metropolitan statistical areas (metro and micro areas) are geographic entities used by Federal statistical agencies in collecting, tabulating, and publishing Federal statistics. A metro area contains a core urban area of 50,000 or more population.

NAICS — The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard used by federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy. 2007 NAICS drill down chart from Census.

NETS (National Establishment Time Series) Database— The NETS longitudinal database used to generate YourEconomy.org statistics is large, with more than 37 million records for U.S. establishments that existed any time between 1990 and the current NETS data year. Among these 37 million establishments, 19 million are still active and report over 500 million employees. NETS has many features that set it apart from other data sets. Also among these are more small businesses, more industry classifications, historical accuracy, establishment verification vs. business sampling, and business relocation accuracy. Its statistics are derived from the entire population of establishments in D&B records. D&B attempts to identify every establishment in the country.

Noncommercial establishments sector — This includes educational institutions, post offices, government agencies and other nonprofit organizations.

Below are the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) and North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes used to identify YE’s noncommercial establishments:

(SIC codes)
43 — United States Postal Service
82 — Educational Services, which includes elementary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, business and vocational schools and educational services
84 — Museums, Art Galleries and Botanical and Zoological Gardens
86 — Membership Organizations. Sub-categories include business associations as well as professional, labor, civic, social, political, religious and membership organizations
91 — Executive, Legislative & General Government, Except Finance
92 — Justice, Public Order and Safety, which includes courts, police and fire protection, correctional institutions
93 — Public Finance, Taxation and Monetary Policy
94 — Administration of Human Resource Programs, which includes administration for educational, public health, social and manpower programs as well as veterans' affairs
95 — Administration of Environmental Quality and Housing Programs
96 — Administration of Economic Programs
97 — National Security and International Affairs

(NAICS codes)
491110 — Postal Service
61 — Educational Services
519120 — Libraries and Archives
712 — Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions
813 — Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations
92 — Public Administration

(Although most hospitals are nonprofits, we've included all healthcare-related companies in the resident and nonresident categories due to the large variety of businesses — both profit and nonprofit — that make up the health-care industry.)

Nonresident establishments sector — Businesses that are located in the area but headquartered in a different state.

Resident establishments sector — Either standalone businesses in the area or businesses with headquarters in the same state. YE makes the distinction between resident and nonresident sectors because resident companies have more influence on job creation than businesses headquartered outside the state.

Sole proprietors and partnerships — NETS includes sole proprietors and partnership establishments that are active enough for D&B to find. In contrast, proprietorships and partnerships that haven't hired employees aren't included in the Census Bureau's Statistics of U.S. Businesses (SUSB) or Business Information Tracking Series (BITS) because they are considered to be non-employers. Also, if a business is listed in SUSB or BITS, its owners and partners are not counted as employees. These differences mean that NETS represents a greater total of small-business establishments and employees than the SUSB and BITS databases.

Stages — The resident sector is subdivided into different stages that reflect operational and management issues establishments face as they grow from startups to mature companies. Stages provide a different framework for understanding the needs of businesses and supporting their growth — one that could help communities better leverage resources. For regardless of their industry sector, companies in the same developmental stage experience similar challenges. And, as companies move through these stages, not only do their internal needs change, but their external needs — what they need from the community — also change.

Self Employed (1 employee) — This includes small-scale business activity that can be conducted in homes (cottage establishments) as well as sole proprietorships.

Stage 1 (2-9 employees) — This includes partnerships, lifestyle businesses and startups. This stage is focused on defining a market, developing a product or service, obtaining capital and finding customers.

Stage 2 (10-99 employees) — At this phase, a company typically has a proven product, and survival is no longer a daily concern. Companies begin to develop infrastructure and standardize operational systems. Leaders delegate more and wear fewer hats.

Stage 3 (100-499 employees) — Expansion is a hallmark at this stage as a company broadens its geographic reach, adds new products and pursues new markets. Stage 3 companies introduce formal processes and procedures, and the founder is less involved in daily operations and more concerned with managing culture and change.

Stage 4 (500 or more employees) — At this level of maturity, an organization dominates its industry and is focused on maintaining and defending its market position. Key objectives are controlling expenses, productivity, global penetration and managing market niches.

United States totals — This is a total of the 50 states (and does not include the Virgin Islands nor Puerto Rico), rather than a comparison of national and international data.