Data Sharing to Reduce Respondent Burden for the U.S. Census Bureau’s Business Register Presented to 12 th Meeting of the Group of Experts on Business Registers By Shirin Ahmed September 2011

Background Decentralized Statistical System –80 Agencies –U.S. Census Bureau –Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) –Bureau of Economic Analysis 2

U.S. Census Business Register 28.5 million businesses –21million nonemployer businesses (self- employed individuals) –7.5 million employer businesses 3

U.S. Census Business Register Data Sources –Federal Tax Records Payroll taxes Income taxes –Social Security Administration New businesses Industry codes –BLS Industry codes Addresses 4

U.S. Census Business Register Data Sources –Direct Collection Company Organization Survey –Annual –40,000 Enterprises –1.3 million Establishments –Updates all large companies and targeted small and medium companies Economic Census –Every five years, years ending in “2” and “7” –4.6 million of the 7.5 million employers –Primary means of identifying “splitters” »Splitters – Single location enterprises that split into multiple location enterprises 5

Independent Registers at Census and BLS Units –Enterprise (Domestic Enterprise Group) Census –National Level BLS –State Level –Establishment (Local Unit) –EIN – Tax Reporting Unit EIN used to link tax records - BLS and Census 6

Data Sharing Research comparing registers conducted 2004 to 2008 –Opportunities to benefit from data sharing identified –Focus on multiple location businesses Sharing of single location business data restricted by IRS rules More opportunities –Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA) 7

Data Sharing BLS data to be provided to Census –Annually beginning 2011 –Multiple location companies and affiliated establishments Name and Address Industry Code Quarterly employment and payroll –Data on Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) 8

Reduced Respondent Burden Reduce Number of Enterprises Profiled in COS –Enterprises in a single state 46% –And with a single EIN 30 % 9

Reduced Respondent Burden Improved Frame for Economic Census and Surveys –Reduction in number of “splitters” in Census –Better Industry coding results in getting correct industry form to respondents 10

Other Uses of BLS Data Improved Payroll and Employment data Identification of PEO Clients allowing assignment of workers to place of work 11

Summary Improved coverage and quality of Census BR Reduced respondent burden Work on legislation to share tax data THANK YOU! 12