Watch for Your Economic Census Form

Chances are, yours is one of the businesses in Richardson that will receive a 2007 Economic Census form from the U.S. Census Bureau in December. Forms go to all but the very smallest businesses in this tally done once every five years.

The forms ask for basic information like your location, employment, payroll, and sales by type of product or service. Businesses that receive a form are required by law (Title 13, U.S. Code) to respond.

Businesses, communities, and governments use Economic Census data for planning and market development. Statistics are published for more than a thousand industries as well as for states, counties, cities and metropolitan areas at business.census.gov.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke has called this census "indispensable to understanding America's economy."