US Data Sourcing | IBISWorld Help Center (2024)

Where does IBISWorld source its data?

We source US industry data from the US Census Bureau and industry-specific sources.

The US Census Bureau

Data from the US Census Bureau provides a foundation for analysts to build their research on.

The Economic Census occurs once every five years. Analysts start with Economic Census data on an industry’s revenue, wages, number of firms and employees. The Census Bureau also provides information on non-employing firms, which can often make up a significant proportion of an industry’s operators.

The US Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns and the Bureau of Labor Statistics help to fill in some of the gaps between census years and provide data for the Geographic Breakdown chapter.

We supplement the foundational Economic Census data with various other surveys targeting specific economic segments. For example, The Annual Survey of Manufacturers, Annual Survey of Services, Annual Survey of Retail and the Annual Survey of Wholesalers all provide reliable data encapsulating yearly snapshots of industry statistics.

Industry-specific sources

We use industry and trade associations for insights on current issues and trends (E.g., regulation and taxation), collecting statistics on production values, and/or market and product segmentation.

We source data for specific sectors from industry federations and regulators such as the National Retail Federation, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. We also supplement sector-level data with reports from major industry players, such as SEC 10k filing.

For any additional questions regarding IBISWorld’s US data sources, please reach out to your Client Relationship Manager. If you’re not an IBISWorld member, please contact us to learn more about our membership options.