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• A5133 1972

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS-Many persons participated in the various activities of the 1972 Census of Selected Service Industries. Primary direction of the program was performed by Shirley Kallek, Associate Director for Economic Fields, and Melvin A. Hendry, Assistant Director for Economic and Agriculture Censuses.

This report was prepared in the Business Division under the general direction of John Wikoff, Chief. Michael G. Farrell, Assistant Chief for Census Programs, was responsible for the overall planning and management of the Division's census programs; he also coordinated activities with other divisions. Planning and implementing for this census and compiling this report were under the direction of Dorothy J. Reynolds, Chief, Service Census Branch, with primary staff assistance provided by Sheldon G. Ziman. Alvin H. Barten coordinated activities, specifications, and procedures with the other economic censuses. The computer programs were developed under the direction of George D. Minier, Chief, Census Programing Branch, assisted by William Wester. Paul Shapiro, Assistant Chief for Staff and Special Projects, provided staff assistance.

The mailing, collecting of data, and processing of administrative record information were conducted by the Economic Surveys Division under the direction of Roger Bugenhagen, Chief. Assistance was provided by Samuel Schweid, Andrew Grieco, Charles Venters, Shirley Roberts, Robert Viehman, Jerry McDonald, Joel Richardson, and Sandra Katis.

Forms design was performed in the Administrative Services Division, Henry J. Husmann, Chief. Gladys Potts, Joyce Teague, Helen Hindt, and Margaret Swinton made significant contributions.

Within the Publications Services Division, many individuals made significant contributions in the areas of publication planning and design, editorial review, composition, and printing procurement.

Clerical and data keying operations were performed in the Data Preparation Division at Jeffersonville, Indiana, under the direction of O. Bryant Benton, Chief, who was assisted by Don L. Adams and Robert L. Allen.

The geographic coding procedures were developed in the Geography Division under the direction of Jacob Silver, Chief, assisted by Zigmund Decker, Terence McDowell, Silla Tomasi, Robert Hamill, David Christy, Kurt LeGait, and John Hawkins. Computer processing was directed by James R. Pepal, Chief, Computer Services Division. C. Thomas DiNenna, Jesse Verdeja, and Willie E. Clark provided staff assistance.

Donald Young of the Economic Census Staff participated in the overall planning and review of the census operations.

Special acknowledgment is also due the many businesses whose cooperation has contributed to the publication of these data.

The statistics presented in the volume incorporate the summary and subject report series SC72-A and SC72-S.

Library of Congress Card No. 76-600020
SUGGESTED CITATION

U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Selected Service Industries, 1972
VOLUME I. SUMMARY AND SUBJECT STATISTICS

U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1976

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, and U.S. Department of Commerce district offices. Price $12

GENERAL BACKGROUND AND HISTORY

The economic censuses constitute comprehensive and periodic canvasses of the Nation's industrial and business activities. Taken by the Census Bureau, a part of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Social and Economic Statistics Administration, the censuses provide a detailed statistical profile of a large segment of the national economy.

The first economic census of the United States was conducted as part of the 1810 decennial census, when inquiries on manufacturing were included with the census of population. All other decennial censuses through 1900, except in 1830, contained questions on manufacturing. In 1904 the quinquennial census of manufacturing was begun. This census was conducted every 5 years until 1920 and every second year from 1921 to 1939.

Although limited distributive trade data were collected in the decennial census of 1840, the first census of business was taken in 1929. This included only retail and wholesale trades, but beginning with the second business census in 1933 and in succeeding censuses, various services also have been included. Business censuses were subsequently taken for 1935 and 1939 and, after a wartime interruption, resumed in 1948. Beginning in 1954, and continuing in the censuses of 1958, 1963, and 1967, the business census has been conducted concurrently with the censuses of manufactures and mineral industries. Beginning with the 1967 censuses, Congress authorized the economic censuses to be taken at 5-year intervals covering years ending in "2" and "7."

PURPOSE AND USES

The economic censuses are the primary source of facts about the structure and functioning of the economy and, therefore, provide information essential for both government and business. These censuses furnish an important part of the framework for such composite measures as the national accounts. In forecasting and planning, it is especially useful to analyze the national product in terms of the transactions that determine its size and composition. The economic censuses also provide weights and serve as benchmarks for indexes of industrial production, productivity, and price, all of which are essential for understanding current economic developments.

There is widespread use of the economic censuses by manufacturers and distributors who need to establish measures of their potential markets in terms of areas, kinds of

businesses, and kinds of products; and by management in various industries and trades which need facts for purposes of economic or sales forecasting, analysis of sales performance, layout of sales territories, allocation of advertising budgets, and location of plants, warehouses, and stores. For these business purposes, census facts are invaluable. Census statistics also provide insight into changes in the structure of industry, information needed by trade organizations. The geographic detail describing the patterns of economic change in individual communities is valuable to State and local governments as well as to other local business organizations and research groups.

Following every census, reports are purchased by thousands of businesses and other users; likewise, census facts are widely disseminated by trade associations, business journals, and the daily press. Volumes containing census statistics are available in most major public and college libraries. Descriptions of the various publications from the 1972 Census of Selected Service Industries may be found on the inside back cover of this report.