[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11120-11124]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-03797]


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OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET


2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)--
Updates for 2022; Update of Statistical Policy Directive No. 8, 
Standard Industrial Classification of Establishments; and Elimination 
of Statistical Policy Directive No. 9, Standard Industrial 
Classification of Enterprises

AGENCY: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of 
Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President.

ACTION: Notice of solicitation for proposals to revise portions of 
NAICS for 2022, solicitation of comments on the update of Statistical 
Policy Directive No. 8, and solicitation of comments on the elimination 
of Statistical Policy Directive No. 9.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Management and Budget OMB, through its Economic 
Classification Policy Committee (ECPC), is seeking comment on potential 
changes to the structure and content of the North American Industry 
Classification System (NAICS). There are seven parts in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Part I provides background on 
NAICS. Part II includes a solicitation of proposals for new and 
emerging industries. Part III solicits public comments on the NAICS 
treatment of Electronic Shopping in Retail Trade. Part IV asks for 
comments on the concept of internet Publishing and Broadcasting and the 
potential to eliminate the industry in NAICS 2022. Part V solicits 
comments on a proposed revision to OMB's Statistical Policy Directive 
No. 8, Standard Industrial Classification of Establishments. Part VI 
requests comments on the advisability of withdrawing OMB Statistical 
Policy Directive No. 9, Standard Industrial Classification of 
Enterprises. Finally, Part VII presents notification of a method to 
publicize corrections for errors and omissions that are identified in 
NAICS.
    In soliciting comments about revising NAICS, the ECPC does not 
intend to

[[Page 11121]]

open the entire classification system for substantial change in 2022. 
The ECPC will consider public comments and proposals for changes or 
modifications that advance the goals of NAICS as outlined in Part I of 
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

DATES: To ensure consideration of comments on this Notice, comments 
must be provided in writing no later than 60 days from the publication 
date of this notice. Because of delays in the receipt of regular mail 
related to security screening, respondents are encouraged to send 
comments electronically (see ADDRESSES, below).

ADDRESSES: Submit comments through www.regulations.gov--a Federal E-
Government website that allows the public to find, review, and submit 
comments on documents that agencies have published in the Federal 
Register and that are open for comment. Simply type ``USBC-2020-0004'' 
(in quotes) in the Comment or Submission search box, click Go, and 
follow the instructions for submitting comments. Comments received by 
the date specified above will be included as part of the official 
record. Please include the Docket ID (USBC-2020-0004) and the phrase 
``2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)--Updates 
for 2022 Comments'' at the beginning of your comments. Please also 
indicate which questions described in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION of 
this notice are addressed in your comments.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice may be made available 
to the public and subject to disclosure under the Freedom of 
Information Act. For this reason, please do not include in your 
comments information of a confidential nature, such as sensitive 
personal information or proprietary information. If you send an email 
comment, your email address will be automatically captured and included 
as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket; however, 
www.regulations.gov does include the option of commenting anonymously. 
Please note that responses to this public comment request containing 
any routine notice about the confidentiality of the communication will 
be treated as public comments that may be made available to the public 
notwithstanding the inclusion of the routine notice.
    Electronic Availability: Federal Register notices are available 
electronically at www.federalregister.gov/. This document is also 
available on the NAICS website at www.census.gov/naics. This site 
contains previous NAICS United States Federal Register notices, ECPC 
Issues Papers, ECPC Reports, the structure and industry definitions for 
NAICS United States 2017, 2012, 2007, 2002, and 1997, and related 
documents.
    Public Review Procedure: All comments and proposals received in 
response to this notice will be available for public inspection. OMB 
will publish all ECPC recommendations for changes to NAICS for 2022 
resulting from this notice in the Federal Register for review and 
comment prior to final action.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: NAICS classification staff may be 
reached by email at [email protected]. Please note: 
Communication through this email will not be included in the record for 
USBC-2020-0004. Comments should be submitted through 
www.regulations.gov, as described in the ADDRESSES section above.
    For information about this request for comments, contact Kerrie 
Leslie, Office of Management and Budget, 9215 New Executive Office 
Building, 725 17th St. NW, Washington, DC 20503, telephone (202) 395-
1093.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the authority of the Budget and 
Accounting Procedures Act of 1950 (31 U.S.C. 1104(d)) and the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3504(e)), the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB), through its Economic Classification Policy Committee 
(ECPC), is soliciting proposals from the public for changes to the 
structure and content of the North American Industry Classification 
System (NAICS) for inclusion in a potential 2022 revision. OMB, through 
the ECPC, is also soliciting comments on updating Statistical Policy 
Directive No. 8 and eliminating Statistical Policy Directive No. 9.

I. Background of NAICS

    NAICS is a system for classifying establishments (individual 
business locations) by type of economic activity. Its purposes are: (1) 
To facilitate the collection, tabulation, presentation, and analysis of 
data relating to establishments; and (2) to promote uniformity and 
comparability in the presentation and analysis of statistical data 
describing the North American economy. Federal statistical agencies use 
NAICS to collect and/or publish data by industry. It is also widely 
used by State agencies, trade associations, private businesses, and 
other organizations.
    Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Estad[iacute]stica y 
Geograf[iacute]a (INEGI), Statistics Canada, and the United States 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), through the ECPC, collaborated 
on NAICS to make the industry statistics produced by the three 
countries comparable. NAICS is the first industry classification system 
developed in accordance with a single principle of aggregation--
producing units that use similar production processes should be grouped 
together in the classification. NAICS also reflects changes in 
technology and in the growth and diversification of services in recent 
decades. Industry statistics presented using NAICS 2017 are extensively 
comparable with statistics compiled according to the latest revision of 
the United Nations' International Standard Industrial Classification 
(ISIC, Revision 4).
    For these three countries, NAICS provides a consistent framework 
for the collection, tabulation, presentation, and analysis of industry 
statistics used by government policy analysts, by academics and 
researchers, by the business community, and by the public. Please note 
that NAICS is designed and maintained solely for statistical purposes 
to improve and keep current this Federal statistical standard. 
Consequently, although the classification may also be used for various 
nonstatistical purposes (e.g., for administrative, regulatory, or 
taxation functions), the requirements of government agencies or private 
users that choose to use NAICS for nonstatistical purposes play no role 
in its development or revision.
    Four principles that guide NAICS development are:
    (1) NAICS is erected on a production-oriented conceptual framework. 
This means that producing units that use the same or similar production 
processes are grouped together in NAICS.
    (2) NAICS gives special attention to developing production-oriented 
classifications for (a) new and emerging industries, (b) service 
industries in general, and (c) industries engaged in the production of 
advanced technologies.
    (3) Time series continuity is maintained to the extent possible.
    (4) The system strives for compatibility with the two-digit level 
of the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic 
Activities (ISIC, Rev. 4) of the United Nations.
    The ECPC is committed to maintaining the principles of NAICS as it 
develops further refinements. NAICS uses a hierarchical structure to 
classify establishments from the broadest level to the most detailed 
level using the following format:

[[Page 11122]]



Sector........................  2-digit..........  Sectors represent the
                                                    highest level of
                                                    aggregation. There
                                                    are 20 sectors in
                                                    NAICS.
Subsector.....................  3-digit..........  Subsectors represent
                                                    the next, more
                                                    detailed level of
                                                    aggregation. There
                                                    are 99 subsectors in
                                                    NAICS.
Industry Group................  4-digit..........  Industry groups are
                                                    more detailed than
                                                    subsectors. There
                                                    are 311 industry
                                                    groups in NAICS
                                                    2017.
NAICS Industry................  5-digit..........  NAICS industries, in
                                                    most cases,
                                                    represent the lowest
                                                    level of three-
                                                    country
                                                    comparability. There
                                                    are 709 five-digit
                                                    industries in NAICS
                                                    2017.
National Industry.............  6-digit..........  National industries
                                                    are the most
                                                    detailed level and
                                                    represent the
                                                    national level
                                                    detail. There are
                                                    1,057 national
                                                    industries in NAICS
                                                    United States 2017.
 

    To ensure the accuracy, timeliness, and relevance of the 
classification, NAICS is reviewed every five years to determine what, 
if any, changes are required. The 2022 review will be the fifth since 
OMB adopted NAICS in 1997. The ECPC recognizes the costs involved when 
implementing industry classification revisions in statistical programs 
and the costs for data users when there are disruptions in the 
availability of data. The ECPC also recognizes the economic, 
statistical, and policy implications that arise when the industry 
classification system does not identify and account for important 
economic developments. Balancing the costs of change against the 
potential for more accurate and relevant economic statistics requires 
significant input from data producers, data providers, and data users.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
          NAICS version             Date published     Federal Register
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1997............................  April 9, 1997.....  62 FR 17288-17337.
2002............................  January 16, 2001..  66 FR 3826-3827.
2007............................  May 16, 2006......  71 FR 28532-28533.
2012............................  August 17, 2011...  76 FR 51240-51243.
2017............................  August 8, 2016....  81 FR 52584.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Over time, as the internet became an integral part of conducting 
business, two industries in NAICS were created (454111, Electronic 
Shopping, and 519130, Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web 
Search Portals) that delineate based on mode of delivery. As 
utilization of the internet evolved, the structure and coding of these 
industries in NAICS has also evolved. This leads the ECPC to request 
comments on the continued usefulness of the mode of delivery (online 
versus in store/print) as an industry delineation criterion in Sections 
III and IV.

II. New and Emerging Industries

    NAICS is a dynamic industry classification. Every five years, the 
classification is reviewed to determine the need to identify new and 
emerging industries. The ECPC is soliciting public comments on the 
advisability of revising NAICS for new and emerging industries in 2022 
and soliciting proposals for these new industries.
    When developing proposals for new and emerging industries, please 
note that there are two separate economic classifications in the United 
States. NAICS, the industry classification, is the subject of this 
notice, while the North American Product Classification System (NAPCS) 
is a product classification. The NAPCS product system described below 
complements the NAICS industry system and provides an alternate way of 
classifying output.
    NAICS classifies units according to their production function. 
NAICS industries group units undertaking similar activities using 
similar resources but does not necessarily group all similar products 
or outputs. NAPCS classifies the outputs of units, or in other words 
their products or transactions, within a demand-based conceptual 
framework. For example, the hypothetical product of a flu shot can be 
provided by a doctor's office, a hospital, or a walk-in clinic. Because 
these three units are classified to three different NAICS industries, 
data users who want information about all flu shots provided must be 
able to identify the individual products coming out of the units, which 
NAPCS is designed to do. Thus, in many cases, the need for specific 
statistical data can be met by aggregating product data across 
industries rather than by creating a new industry. This is particularly 
true with NAICS, which groups establishments into industries based on 
their primary production function. Proposals for new industries in 
NAICS for 2022 will be evaluated within the context of the industry 
classification system to determine the most appropriate resolution. For 
a detailed description of the NAPCS initiative, see the April 16, 1999, 
Federal Register notice (64 FR 18984-18989) available at 
www.census.gov/napcs.
    Proposals for new industries will be evaluated using a variety of 
criteria. As previously mentioned, each proposal will be evaluated 
based on the application of the production function concept, its impact 
on comparability within North America and with other regions, and its 
impact on time series. For any proposals that cross three-country 
levels of agreement, negotiations with Canada and Mexico, our partners 
in NAICS, will also influence the ECPC's recommendations on those 
proposals. In addition, other criteria may affect recommendations for 
adoption. From a practical standpoint, industries must be of 
appropriate size. At the national level, this is generally not a major 
concern but there are a variety of statistical programs that produce 
industry data at the regional, State, metropolitan area, or even county 
or local level. Proposed industries must include a sufficient number of 
establishments so that Federal agencies can publish industry data 
without disclosing information about the operations of individual 
firms. The ability of government agencies to classify, collect, and 
publish data on the proposed basis will also be taken into account. 
Proposed changes must be such that they can be applied by agencies 
within their normal processing operations. Any recommendations for 
change forwarded by the ECPC for consideration will also take into 
account the cost of making the changes. These costs can be considerable 
and the

[[Page 11123]]

availability of funding to make changes is critical. The budgetary 
environment will be considered when the ECPC makes recommendations. As 
mentioned above, certain proposals may be more adequately addressed 
through the identification and collection of product data.
    Proposals for new or revised industries should be consistent with 
the production-oriented conceptual framework incorporated into the 
principles of NAICS. When formulating proposals, please note that an 
industry classification system groups the economic activities of 
producing units, which means that the activities of similar producing 
units cannot be separated in the industry classification system.
    Proposals must be in writing and include the following information:
    (a) Specific economic activities to be covered by the proposed 
industry, the proposed industry's production processes, its specialized 
labor skills, and any unique materials used. This detail should 
demonstrate that the proposed industry will group establishments with 
similar production processes that are unique and clearly separable from 
the production processes of other industries.
    (b) Relationship of the proposed industry to existing NAICS United 
States 2017 six-digit national industries.
    (c) Documentation of the size and importance of the proposed 
industry in the U.S.
    (d) Information about the proposed industry in Canada and Mexico if 
available.
    Proposals will be collected, reviewed, and analyzed by the ECPC. As 
necessary, proposals for change will be negotiated with our partners in 
Canada and Mexico. When this process is complete, the OMB will publish 
a Federal Register notice that contains the ECPC recommendations for 
additional public comment prior to a final determination of changes to 
NAICS for 2022.

III. E-Commerce and Electronic Shopping in Retail Trade

    The ECPC is soliciting comments on the current treatment of 
electronic shopping in NAICS and proposals for industry structure 
change in the Retail Trade sector. NAICS currently delineates Subsector 
454, Nonstore Retailers, for establishments exclusively engaged in 
nonstore retail trade. Data users are increasingly interested in the 
growth of electronic shopping. However, NAICS Subsector 454 does not 
present a clear picture of all online retail trade activity because it 
does not include online sales of store retailers. The growth of e-
commerce and the pervasive nature of electronic shopping creates 
confusion in classification and results in aggregate data that is hard 
to interpret and use for strategic business decisions, policy 
decisions, and analysis of changes to industry practices. NAICS 
Industry 45411, Electronic Shopping and Mail Order Houses, is defined 
as comprising units that sell exclusively from a nonstore format. This 
distinction is problematic based on changes in retail trade practices 
over the past decade. In short, the industry structure in retail trade 
does not necessarily result in all e-commerce retail revenue being 
included in nonstore retail. It also does not necessarily result in all 
store retail revenue being included in store retail.
    Changes in the use of technology and the impacts on the usefulness 
of the resulting data require an evaluation of the industry structure 
in retail trade. Currently, store retail is delineated by broad product 
lines, such as groceries, apparel, hardware, etc. and by specialized 
stores versus general merchandise stores such as department stores. 
Store retail includes all transactions associated with the location--
in-store customer transactions as well as online transactions credited 
to the store even if shipped directly from a distribution center to a 
customer.
    The growth of online intermediaries performing functions such as 
storage, pick and pack, and billing on behalf of retailers creates 
additional problems. The expansion of these third party services using 
online platforms on behalf of stores further clouds the content and 
interpretation of data using the retail trade industry structure in 
NAICS broken out by store and nonstore.
    Retailers perform an intermediary function to get a product from 
the producer to the consumer. It is no longer clear whether the store 
vs. nonstore distinction should be determinative for classification 
purposes. The increasing prevalence of omni-channel distribution and 
variations in reporting patterns result in significant ambiguity in the 
interpretation and use of the industry data.
    Recent developments include pop up stores, delivery lockers, online 
ordering with in-store pick up, store inventory fulfillment of online 
orders, online orders in stores when an item is out of stock, and 
similar practices. Each of these cases presents ambiguity for 
classification of in store and nonstore data.
    Any change to the current industry treatment will impact time 
series and potential uses of the resulting data presented using NAICS. 
While the sector level total will include all retail sales and will not 
change, the distribution of those sales at lower levels of aggregation 
will change. Changes to the content of store and nonstore retail will 
have an impact on industry metrics like same store sales on a year over 
year basis and total location sales. Changes could also affect 
retailers due to existing terms of leasing arrangements.
    There are several possible changes to the retail trade structure to 
account for the blurring of modes of sale. The first is to redefine 
NAICS 45411 to include establishments primarily rather than exclusively 
engaged in online retail sales, with no further changes. This has the 
benefit of low disruption to the retail structure but will not 
necessarily clarify the content of the resulting data. Another option 
is to simply eliminate NAICS Industry 45411, and broadly use the NAICS 
industry structure for store retailers, maintaining separate industries 
for vending machine operators, fuel dealers, and other direct selling 
establishments. This approach would require a product or mode of sale 
inquiry below the industry level to identify and track online retail 
activity. Some programs that use NAICS could accommodate subindustry 
inquiries but major employment and productivity programs generally 
produce data at the industry level only.

IV. Internet Publishing and Broadcasting

    NAICS 51931, internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search 
Portals, includes a wide range of activities presenting content over 
the internet. This NAICS industry includes online publications, online 
video services, social media sites, and even data brokers. The 
classification is easy to implement but there is growing concern that 
distribution of content via the internet is no longer a useful industry 
classification delineation.
    As more entities use various modes of content delivery including 
over the air, via wired telecommunications networks, and over wireless 
telecommunications networks, it is not clear that a separation of all 
activities exclusively providing content over the internet is 
appropriate. The rise of on-demand programming through apps, the move 
to cord cutting, and changes in the distribution mode of traditional 
newspapers and periodicals can result in data that is hard to interpret 
and can vary based on changes in business models. The ECPC is 
soliciting comments on the usefulness of NAICS

[[Page 11124]]

51931 and proposals for changes to the concept that underlies the 
existing information industries. The ECPC is requesting comments on 
whether the internet is still a relevant industry distinction or if 
internet distribution should be treated as a mode of delivery with a 
goal of consistent treatment in Sector 44-45, Retail Trade, and Sector 
51, Information. As is the case for retail trade, any changes to the 
industry structure in Sector 51, Information, are expected to create 
possibly significant time series breaks.

V. OMB Statistical Policy Directive No. 8, Standard Industrial 
Classification of Establishments

    The ECPC is soliciting public comments at the request of OMB on the 
advisability of formally updating Statistical Policy Directive No. 8, 
Standard Industrial Classification of Establishments, and seeking 
comments on the proposed text of the update. The current Statistical 
Policy Directive text mandates the use of the Standard Industrial 
Classification Manual, 1972, for the classification of establishments 
by type of industrial activity. Statistical Policy Directive No. 8 
incorporates amendments and further revisions of the SIC. OMB adopted 
NAICS as the replacement for the SIC for statistical purposes in 1997. 
(62 FR 17288-17337) The SIC has not been amended or revised since 1987. 
The text of Statistical Policy Directive No. 8 is available for review 
at: https://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/federal_register_notices/fedregister.html. It is also available for review as a supplementary 
document on www.regulations.gov within the same docket as this Federal 
Register Notice.
    The ECPC proposes to update the text of Statistical Policy 
Directive No. 8 and is soliciting public comments on the proposed 
language included below:

Statistical Policy Directive No. 8

North American Industry Classification System; Classification of 
Establishments

    The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is to be 
used to classify reporting establishments by types of industrial 
activity in which they are engaged. Details are presented in the North 
American Industry Classification System, United States, issued by the 
Office of Management and Budget as amended and revised in the future. 
Revisions are considered every five years in calendar years ending with 
2 and 7.

1. Use for Federal Nonstatistical Program Purposes

    NAICS shall not be used in the administration of any regulatory, 
administrative, or tax program unless the Secretary (Administrator) has 
first determined that the use of such industry definition is 
appropriate to the implementation of the program's objectives.
    If the term ``North American Industry Classification System'' 
(NAICS) is to be used in the operative text of the law or regulation to 
define industry (or trade or commerce), language similar to the 
following should be used to assure sufficient flexibility: ``An 
industry or grouping of industries shall mean a North American Industry 
Classification System industry or grouping of industries as defined by 
the Office of Management and Budget subject to such modifications with 
respect to individual industries or groupings of industries as the 
Secretary (Administrator) may determine to be appropriate for the 
purpose of this Act (regulation).''. The use, interpretation, and 
application of NAICS for nonstatistical purposes is controlled by and 
defined by the agencies or regulations that use the statistical 
standard for those nonstatistical purposes.

2. Titles and Descriptions

    The North American Industry Classification System, United States, 
manual includes titles and descriptions of the industries and an 
alphabetic index of illustrative activities classified to industries. 
It is available online at: www.census.gov/naics.

VI. OMB Statistical Policy Directive No. 9, Standard Industrial 
Classification of Enterprises

    The ECPC proposes elimination of Statistical Policy Directive No. 
9, Standard Industrial Classification of Enterprises. OMB presented the 
Enterprise Standard Industrial Classification of Enterprises in 1974. 
The classification is static and has not been updated or widely adopted 
over the past 45 years. NAICS United States does not include a similar 
variant for classification of enterprises. The current text of this 
policy directive is available for review at: https://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/federal_register_notices/fedregister.html. It is also 
available for review as a supplementary document on www.regulations.gov 
within the same docket as this Federal Register Notice.
    The ECPC is soliciting comments on the advisability of eliminating 
Statistical Policy Directive No. 9.

VII. Errors and Omissions In NAICS

    No significant errors or omissions have been identified in NAICS 
2017. Any errors or omissions that are identified in NAICS in the 
future will be corrected and posted on the official NAICS website at 
www.census.gov/naics.

Paul J. Ray,
Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2020-03797 Filed 2-25-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3110-01-P