June 13, 2008

Business "Births," Deaths," "Expansions" Tracked

A Census Bureau web site tracks business births, deaths, and expansions from one year to the next. The Statistics of U.S. Business uses the Business Information Tracking Series (BITS) to link establishments from year to year. Using this file, we are able to tabulate data for establishment births and deaths and employment expansions and contractions. In 2004, for example, there were 10,008 logging establishments; by 2004 the number had dropped by 413 establishments to 9595. In 2004, births numbered 1,155; deaths, 1,185. Employment saw a 1.9 percent drop from 2003 to 2004. Similar information is available for industries (4-digit NAICS level) for states and metro areas.

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