U.S. Census Bureau officials are on island to kick off the 2022 Economic Census in the CNMI.
The bureau’s economic census assistant survey director, Michael Sprung, and director, Staff Chief Bobby Nusz, will launch the survey with the officials and staff of the CNMI Department of Commerce-Central Statistics Division.
Sprung said the survey forms were mailed on Jan. 31 and should be arriving at the participants’ mailboxes this week.
He said the economic census survey, which is conducted across the nation, is a big undertaking and is conducted every five years.
The bureau’s tasks include planning, creating an electronic instrument, and reporting the survey results.
Sprung said it will take them until June 2024 to release the numbers pertaining to the CNMI’s economy based on the data the bureau will collect in the Commonwealth this year.
Nusz said the economic census collects basic business statistics, such as sales, payroll, employment, inventories, capital expenditures, industry-specific information including the number of guestrooms at hotels and square footage for retailers.
He said the survey will also provide the U.S. Department of Commerce-Bureau of Economic Analysis with the statistics needed for estimating the gross domestic product of the CNMI.
Nusz said the economic census survey is mandatory.
The letters that businesses will receive in their mail include instructions for reporting business data electronically.
Small businesses can use the paper questionnaire, but they are encouraged to report electronically.
Justin Andrew of the CNMI Department of Commerce-Central Statistics Division said they can assist small business owners who don’t have access to computers.
According to the bureau’s website, the economic census can provide businesspersons a foundation for their business plan, market research and strategy.
