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Q: How does NETS compare to government data (ES-202)?
A: NETS data includes EVERYTHING! Meaning, registered owners and owning partners of establishments as employees, as well as all industries (BLS statistics don’t include state and local government workers or railroad workers, and Census BITS statistics exclude crop and animal production, rail transportation, National Postal Service, pension, health, welfare, and vacation funds, trusts, estates, and agency accounts, private households, and public administration).
Studies strongly suggest that NETS reports higher total employment than government statistics partly for the reasons above, but also because it measures jobs not workers. This means that it reports part-time as well as full-time jobs, jobs held by undocumented workers, and counts all jobs of workers that hold employment at more than one establishment.
One study compared NETS jobs data to the ES-202 (unemployment insurance filings made quarterly by employers) data and the census data on non employers and found NETS data to track within 1-2 percent.
Q: Can I see current data?
A: Not directly. The current year (12-18 months depending on the release) in the National Establishment Time Series (NETS) release draws information from several current-year Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) databases to better track and confirm changes at establishments in previous years. This process of looking forward to the present is combined with a process that looks back to 1989 to adjust establishment information that may have changed or has been discovered recently. These adjustments provide a more complete picture of establishment changes and better describes the dynamics of the U.S. economy.
Q: Is it true the data is built from the county level up?
A: Yes! Starting with the 2010 NETS data release, YE data has been built with FIPS codes from the county level up through MSAs and states to the national level. It enables us to build in a verification process for the data so that every establishment is counted at the most basic level, and summed together to make larger regions (MSA, state, U.S.). That's alot of data!
Q: When is the data updated?
A: Each fall a new year of NETS data has been updated into YE. We also run the data in the spring of the following year to incorporate any changes or adjustments that come to our attention.
Q: I noticed changes in total establishments and jobs when the new data is released that seem to affect past years?
A: Walls & Associates will add more total establishments in each NETS release. This means that establishments throughout the time series will be updated and revised reflecting the changes that are reported.
Q: What are stage, sector, and NAICS movements?
A: Establishments can move from one employment stage, establishment sector, or industry classification to another by expanding, contracting, or changing industries. For example: an establishment in Stage 3 expands in base year 2007 by enough employees to end up in Stage 4 in current year 2008. This expansion is recorded in Stage 3 in 2008 and the establishment now resides in Stage 4. YE does not reflect stage, sector, or NAICS movement in the growth detail.
YE+ subscribers will see an additional column (Net Misc.) for establishments and jobs reflecting net stage, sector, and NAICS movement.
For more detailed information about YourEconomy.org (YE):
Agriculture-related establishments
NETS (National Establishment Time Series) database includes industry classifications such as agriculture, postal workers and public administration, which aren't included in most Census (BITS) reports. This significantly increases the total number of businesses and employees represented in NETS.
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. business establishments. 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 52 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 non-employer 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 & Growth section
Composition & Growth shows how establishments and jobs are distributed according to the three establishment sectors and four employment stages. This section provides a baseline for observation throughout YE. Growth factors and summary and comparison graphs are also viewed here.
Default view
Reflects the last year in the NETS database.
Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) Number (DUNS)
NETS and YourEconomy.org 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 that tracks through the NETS database time-series from 1995-2011. Using establishments, YE can accurately study labor markets across establishments and across industries in local communities and across the U.S. YE has harnessed the volume of establishments in NETS and can track establishment/firm activity from the parent company. YE uses establishment level data!
Existing establishments
Existing establishments offers a distinction between existing (including establishment expansions) startups and new startups when looking at job creation. Existing establishments are new companies created by existing companies plus expanding establishments, while new startups are simply births or openings of establishments with no prior affiliation to another establishment.
Growth Factor
To measure the underlying activity of all growth in any economy, YE follows the 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 and jobs. 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). YE has harnessed the volume of establishments in NETS and can track establishment/firm activity several levels removed from the parent company.
Jobs
Establishment employment at a location. This is reported employment and not full time employees (FTEs) as defined by government data.
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. On YE, there are 365 MSAs available located both under MSA and county regions. Single county MSAs will be designated with (MSA) after the county name. Rankings will show the 221 multiple county MSAs.
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. YE uses 3-digit NAICS (extracted from 6-digit NAICS) to build each region from the ground up. 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 44 million records for U.S. establishments that existed any time between 1990 and the current NETS data year. Among these 44 million establishments, 25 million are still active and report over 160 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, Grant making, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations
92 - Public Administration
Note: 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 healthcare industry.
Nonresident establishments sector
Businesses (establishments) that are located in the area but headquartered (if their headquarters is not themselves) in a different state.
Resident establishments sector
Either stand-alone 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.
Sales
Establishment reported and estimated sales at a location.
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.
Notes: 1) movement between stages and sectors is not shown.
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
United States totals are comprised of the 50 states and include the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, and can be used for a comparison against other growth factors in other U.S. regions (for example) rather than a comparison of national and international data.
For more detailed information about YourEconomy.org (YE):