Construction: Guide to Data Sources from the US Census Bureau

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Definition: NAICS 23, Construction

The construction sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in the construction of buildings or engineering projects (e.g., highways and utility systems). Establishments primarily engaged in the preparation of sites for new construction and establishments primarily engaged in subdividing land for sale as building sites also are included in this sector.

Construction work done may include new work, additions, alterations, or maintenance and repairs. Activities of these establishments generally are managed at a fixed place of business, but they usually perform construction activities at multiple project sites. Production responsibilities for establishments in this sector are usually specified in (1) contracts with the owners of construction projects (prime contracts) or (2) contracts with other construction establishments (subcontracts). more

Guide to Data Sources for Construction from the U.S. Census Bureau

Frequency	Title (with link to data)	Contents	Number of Industry Categories	Geography
Monthly	Building Permits	Housing units authorized by building permits for new residential construction	N/A	U.S., states, metro areas, counties, permit-issuing places
	New Residential Construction	Starts and completions of new single- and multi-family housing units	N/A	U.S., 4 regions
	New Residential Sales	Sales of new one-family houses, median and average sales prices	N/A	U.S., 4 regions
	Manufactured Housing	Estimates of new manufactured (mobile) homes placed for residential use and dealer inventories	N/A	U.S., regions, divisions, states
	Construction Spending	Estimates of the total dollar value of construction work done in the U.S.	N/A	U.S.
Monthly and Quarterly	Construction Price Indexes	Price indexes for new one-family houses sold or under construction	N/A	U.S.
Quarterly	Quarterly Workforce Indicators	Employment, job creation, separations, turnover, average monthly earnings	14	States, metro areas, counties
Annual	Characteristics of New Housing	Characteristics (floor area, number of bathrooms, type of heating system, exterior wall material, etc.) of new one-family houses or multi-family buildings completed; charactersitics of new one-family houses sold	N/A	U.S.. 4 regions
	Annual Capital Expenditures Survey	Capital expenditures for structures and equipment for companies with paid employees	4	U.S.
	Information and Communication Technology Survey	Non-capitalized expenditures for information and communication technology equipment and software	1	U.S.
	County Business Patterns	Employees; payroll; number of establishments with paid employees by employment size of establishment	73	U.S., states, metro areas, counties, ZIP codes, Puerto Rico
	Nonemployer Statistics	Number of establishments and sales of firms with no paid employees	20	U.S., states, metro areas, counties
	Statistics of U.S. Businesses	Number of firms, employees, payroll, (and revenue, for 2002 only) by employment-size of the enterprise	73	U.S., states, metro areas
	Statistics of U.S. Businesses -- Employment Change	Number of establishments and year-to-year change in employment for births, deaths, expansions, and contractions.	14	U.S., states, metro areas, counties
	Business Dynamics Statistics	Number of establishments and year-to-year change in employments for births, death, expansions, and contractions by firm age and employment-size. Sector classification is by SIC.	1	U.S., states
Every 5 years	Economic Census	Number of establishments, sales, employees, and payroll (for additional topics available, see Economic Census details)	75	U.S., states, island areas
	Economic Census of Island Areas	Number of establishments, sales, employees, and payroll for establishments with payroll	Varies	Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa
	Survey of Business Owners	Number of firms, sales, employees, and payroll for all businesses and for businesses owned by females, Hispanics, and major race categories (plus national-only data on veteran status and other owner and business characteristics)	4	U.S., states, metro areas

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