Terms and Definitions

YourEconomy Time Series

 

Definitions

Establishment

An establishment is a unique, physical location operated by one company or organization. It may be for-profit, non-profit, governmental, educational, or agricultural. Examples of how establishments are counted:

• More than one establishment can exist at a single address — for example, individual suites in an office building rented out to multiple organizations.
• If a company or organization operates from multiple physical locations, each location is counted as a separate establishment. For example, a grocery chain with separate stores on the east and west sides of town would have each store counted individually.
• A business or organization operating out of a residence is counted as an establishment.
• A business or organization run by a single person is counted as an establishment, even if that person works only part-time.

What is not counted as an establishment?

• Businesses that have registered with government agencies or completed some form of legal incorporation but have not yet begun operating.
• Businesses that exist only to hold title to real estate, along with shell companies and other passive entities.
• Home offices of employees who work remotely for another establishment.

Job

A job represents a single person participating in the operations of an establishment. This includes:

• Traditional employees who receive regular wages, whether working full-time, part-time, or only occasionally for a few hours.
• Contractors, leased employees, and temporary workers.
• Owners, partners, and other proprietors who participate in operating an establishment, whether or not they receive wages.

New Establishment – Start or Birth

An establishment is considered new if the combination of its name and address has not previously appeared in our database, and it does not appear to have moved from another location or simply changed its name. A merger or acquisition may also result in a new establishment being generated.

Examples:

• An establishment that never existed before.
• A corporation opens a facility in another town.
• A school opens a satellite location in a strip mall.
• A coffee shop opens in a previously empty storefront.
• A business leases an additional office at a separate address.

Closed Establishment

An establishment is considered closed if its tenant or owner no longer operates from that address and does not appear to have moved.

Examples:

• A restaurant has gone out of business.
• A business closes a remote office, and the employees who worked there now work from another facility.
• A school district consolidates two schools into a single building under one name — the now-empty building is considered closed.
• A farmer retires and the farm is sold to a new owner.

Establishment Move

An establishment is considered to have moved if it is not a new establishment, remains active, and its location code (county, CBSA, state, or ZIP code) has changed from one period to the next.

Expansion

An establishment expands when it increases the total number of jobs in its operations.

Examples:

• A factory sees increased orders and adds a third shift of workers to boost production.
• A police department creates a new unit and hires additional officers.
• A winery hires seasonal workers for harvest.

What does not count as a job expansion?

• Hiring to replace departing workers when the net job change is zero or negative.
• Laying off 10 workers from Department A and replacing them with 10 workers from Department B.

Contraction

An establishment contracts when it decreases the total number of jobs in its operations.

Examples:

• A farmer purchases new equipment and no longer needs workers for milking.
• A daycare can't find enough staff, so it closes a classroom.
• A government office has its budget cut and lets workers go.
• Seasonal workers at a winery finish the season and leave.

 FIPS/CBSA

Overview

The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) publication is a five-digit code which uniquely identifies counties and county equivalents. The first two digits identify the state while the last 3 digits identify the county.

A core-based statistical area (CBSA) is a U.S. geographic area defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that consists of one or more counties (or equivalents) anchored by an urban center of at least 10,000 people plus adjacent counties that are socioeconomically tied to the urban center by commuting. These standards are used to replace the definitions of metropolitan areas that were defined in 1990. As of 2025. YTS uses the 2023 Definition for all years.

YTS Assembly

YTS (YourEconomy Time Series) lists  FIPS codes for all 50 states or 3,144 counties, and 1,915 CBSAs including 387 Metropolitan areas not including Puerto Rico.

Connecticut’s FIPS

On June 6, 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau formally recognized Connecticut's nine councils of government as county equivalents instead of the state's eight counties. Connecticut's eight historical counties continue to exist in name only, and are no longer considered for statistical purposes. YTS uses the new nine council’s FIPS from 2021.

 Industry Assignment and Comparison

Overview

Data Axle’s U.S. Business Databases are organized using the U.S. government's Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system, which categorizes businesses by general business activity. Data Axle maintains more than 17,000 business category titles, which map to 10,500 unique 6-digit SIC codes (most SIC codes are typically only 4 digits).

While SIC classifies businesses based on the products or services they produce, NAICS classifies businesses based on the processes used to create those products or services. Data Axle's NAICS 8 codes add two additional digits to the standard 6-digit NAICS codes, allowing for a more precise conversion from 6-digit SIC codes.

SIC assignment is primarily determined by Yellow Page headings from local phone directories. Because this categorization is self-reported by businesses, it offers excellent coverage, is refreshed regularly, and is publicly available. The 6-digit SIC-based coding system provides a suitable match for any Yellow Page heading and can be expanded to accommodate new headings and industries.

NAICS reflects the importance of service-based enterprises, organizing the economy into more than 1,170 industries (565 of which are service-related) across 20 broad sectors (16 of which are service-related).

YTS Assembly

YTS removes the two additional digits from Data Axle's 8-digit NAICS assignments — while still retaining the full NAICS 8 code and description — so that the more familiar 6-digit NAICS standard is used. To verify unclassified SIC and NAICS entries, an algorithm reviews all unclassified records across all years. If a pattern of active industry codes appears in the preceding and/or following years, the algorithm will update the unclassified value to reflect the indicated business activity.

Census Comparison

It's common to see variance — sometimes significant — between aggregate industry verticals when comparing Data Axle (and therefore YTS) data to Census data. There are several reasons for this:

• With Census data, businesses self-report the industry code they believe is most appropriate. However, since multiple codes are often similar, and industry classification isn't typically a business's area of expertise, the code selected isn't always the most accurate one.
• Data Axle uses Yellow Page headings as a guide to assign the most appropriate industry code, then verifies businesses by phone to confirm accuracy. This process helps ensure the correct code is selected. As a result, when reviewing both primary and secondary codes, industry classification accuracy is typically around 90% or better.
• Because the system converts from SIC to NAICS, there's additional room for discrepancy. Data Axle may assign a subcategory that doesn't align neatly with the broader 4-digit codes that business owners or the Census would use.

A YourEconomy comparison between YTS and Census data found that Census counts for industry segments involving financial, real estate, and tax-reporting entities can be significantly higher than corresponding Data Axle and YTS figures. This is primarily because government data includes establishments that were never actually "in business" or never intended to conduct commercial activity.

Physical Relocation of Establishments – Moves

An establishment is considered to have moved if it is not a new establishment, remains active, and its location code (county, CBSA, state, or ZIP) has changed from one period to the next. YTS tracks move-ins and move-outs at each of these geographic levels. Note that Census tract and congressional district can change without an establishment having physically relocated.

Every six months as a new version of YTS is assembled, regions are examined at the ZIP code level to identify and verify the physical relocation ("moves") of establishments. A significant number of apparent FIPS-level moves (county and state) turn out to be false upon verification, primarily due to one of the following factors:

• ZIP codes that cross county (FIPS) boundaries — If an establishment has no address, has a malformed address, or is located in an unincorporated area, the FIPS code may falsely indicate a move until the address is verified.
• Headquarters/branch relationships — In a relatively small number of cases, new branch establishments are mistakenly flagged as moves. When this occurs, YourEconomy uses existing YTS data to verify and correct the record as needed.
• Missing location data — Attributes such as address, state, ZIP code, and latitude/longitude can occasionally be missing from a given six-month delivery. YourEconomy verifies and completes missing location data using external sources, which it sources and pays for directly.

Economic Category

YourEconomy clusters industries into our own economic categories and is a filter option on the Changes over Time dashboard view. You can quickly filter your dashboard to show only Businesses, Healthcare and/or Public Service. The Economic Category automatically clusters multiple industries together, based on the NAICS codes listed in the chart below.

Public Service

4851 - Urban Transit 

4911 - Postal Service 

4852 - Interurban and Rural Bus Transportation

519210 - Libraries

5211 - Monetary Authorities (Central Bank)

61 - Educational Services

6241 - Family Services

6242 - Relief Services

6243 - Vocational Rehabilitation

7121 - Museums, Zoos, Parks

813 - Religious Organization

92 - Public Administration

Healthcare

621 - Offices of Physicians, Dentists, Other Healthcare, Providers, Outpatient Care

622 - Hospitals

623 - Residential Care Facilities, Nursing Homes

Business

All industries outside of those listed in Public Service or Healthcare