Businesses reminded to complete economic census
PRESS RELEASE
September 11, 2013
Businesses reminded to complete economic census
Capitol Hill, Saipan – The U.S. Census Bureau and CNMI Department of Commerce’s Central Statistics Division (CSD) reminds all businesses in the CNMI that the 2012 Economic Census is nearing completion of data collection.
A total of 1,286 questionnaires were mailed in December 2012 to businesses with paid employees. Currently, CNMI’s response rate is 80%. For the 20% that have yet to submit their forms Commerce recommends the following:
- Complete the questionnaires online following the instructions provided on the form; or
- Mail the completed questionnaires to the address on the form.
- If you need assistance, please call the CSD office at 664-3045 / 3023.
Response to the economic census is required by law. Title 13, U.S. Code, requires businesses to respond to the census. By the same law, your census report is confidential.
The Economic Census of Island Areas is the major source of facts about the structure and functioning of the economy in the CNMI. It profiles the economy every 5 years and the data includes the number of establishments, sales, payroll, number of employees and other data items.
Data from the Economic Census is important for everyone involved with the economy from the government policy makers trying to assess potential impact of proposed legislation to the trade associations looking to assess trends within their industries to the individual businesses trying to analyze potential new markets. Economic Census data provides key input to the CNMI’s gross domestic product calculations.
This data has been very useful in the past in large part due to businesses completing their Economic Census forms.
“I would like to express my appreciation to the businesses that have submitted their forms and urge the remaining 20% to do the same. In doing so, we will be able to release results in April 2014,” stated Mr. Lee R. Wentela, Chief of the US Census Bureau’s Economic Census Branch. “The assistance of Commerce’s Central Statistics Division, the Office of the Governor, and other government agencies has been essential in ensuring the accuracy of our work.”