CENSUS OF BUSINESSES TO BE TAKEN THIS MONTH

More than 5 million American businesses -- 1,700 in Cape Girardeau County -- will receive 1997 Economic Census questionnaires from the U.S. Census Bureau this month.

The Economic Census, conducted every five years, is important to business and industry, local governments, economic development agencies and chambers of commerce, said John Mehner, president of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce.

The census information includes numbers of employees, payroll, types, and value of goods and services provided by the businesses.

"Most business can complete the form in about an hour," said Robert Marske of the Census Bureau in Washington, D.C.

All businesses receiving the form are required by law to respond.

"Many small businesses do not receive a form," said Marske. "We don't send the forms to businesses with fewer than five employees."

The first big report of the census will be ready in about a year, said Marske.

"The census will provide a soup-to-nuts outlook on the entire U.S. economy," he said. "It will be a thorough review of what the economic picture was like for 1997, state-by-state and sector-by-sector."

"This is the most ambitious economic census to date," said Marske. "It will be the first published entirely on the Internet."

The census, however, is confidential, said Marske. "Business responses are exempt from the Freedom of Information Act and no business competitors can obtain the individual data," he said.

The census will be the first major statistical report based on the North American Industry Classification System. Developed cooperatively by the U.S., Canada and Mexico, NAICS replaces the Standard Industrial Classification system to provide greater comparability with international statistics.

NAICS more accurately portrays the way the economy is structured, said Marske. "The new system reflects the profound changes in technology and the growth of services that have marked recent decades.

"The census also helps the business participating," said Marske. "The results can provide vital information for strategic planning and many of the official statistics that investors expect in a business plan."

Additional information and sample forms are available on the Internet at www.census.gov/econ97/ or by contacting Marske at the Census Bureau, (301)-457-2547.