Glossaries - Report Companions: Economic Sectors Descriptions
Click a category for details:
Agriculture -
Mining -
Construction -
Manufacturing -
Transport/Utilities
Wholesale -
Retail -
Finance, Insurance, Real Estate (FIRE) -
Services
Agriculture
This sector includes establishments primarily engaged in agricultural production, forestry, commercial fishing, hunting and trapping, and related services.
The classification of agricultural production covers establishments (e.g., farms, ranches, dairies, greenhouses, nurseries, orchards, hatcheries) primarily engaged in the production of crops, plants, vines, or trees (excluding forestry operations); and the keeping, grazing, or feeding of livestock for the sale of livestock or livestock products (including serums). Livestock as used here includes cattle, sheep, goats, hogs, and poultry. Also included are animal specialties, such as horses, rabbits, bees, pets, fur-bearing animals in captivity, and fish in captivity. Agricultural production also includes establishments primarily engaged in the operation of sod farms, cranberry bogs, and poultry hatcheries; in the production of mushrooms, bulbs, flower seeds, and vegetable seeds; and in the growing of hydroponic crops.
The classification of agricultural services includes establishments primarily engaged in supplying soil preparation services, crop services, landscape and horticultural services, veterinary and other animal services, and farm labor and management services.
The classification of forestry covers establishments primarily engaged in the operation of timber tracts, tree farms, or forest nurseries; in the gathering of forest products; or in performing forestry services, but not logging, The classification of fishing and hunting and trapping covers establishments primarily engaged in commercial fishing (including shellfish and marine products); in operating fish hatcheries and fish and game preserves; and in commercial hunting and trapping.
Mining
This sector includes all establishments primarily engaged in mining. The term mining is used in the broad sense to include the extraction of minerals occurring naturally: solids, such as coal and ores; liquids, such as crude petroleum; and gases such as natural gas. The term mining is also used to include quarrying, well operations, milling (e.g., crushing, screening, washing, flotation), and other preparation customarily done at the mine site, or as a part of mining activity. Exploration and development of mineral properties are included.
Mining operations are classified, by industry, on the basis of the principal mineral produced, or, if there is no production, on the basis of the principal mineral for which exploration or development work is in process.
Construction
This sector includes establishments primarily engaged in construction. The term construction includes new work, additions, alterations, reconstruction, installations, and repairs. Construction activities are generally administered or managed from a relatively fixed place of business, but the actual construction work is performed at one or more different sites.
Three broad types of construction activity are covered: (1) building construction by general contractors or by operative builders; (2) heavy construction other than building by general contractors and special trade contractors; and (3) construction activity by other special trade contractors. Special trade contractors are primarily engaged in specialized construction activities, such as plumbing, painting, and electrical work, and work for general contractors under subcontract or directly for property owners. General contractors usually assume responsibility for an entire construction project, but may subcontract to others all of the actual construction work or those portions of the project that require special skills or equipment.
Building construction general contractors are primarily engaged in the construction of dwellings, office buildings, stores, farm buildings, and other building construction projects. Operative builders who build on their own account for resale are also included in this sector, but investment builders who build structures on their own account for rental are classified in the FIRE sector.
General contractors and special trade contractors for heavy construction other than building are primarily engaged in the construction of highways; pipelines, communications and power lines, and sewer and water mains; and other heavy construction projects. Special trade contractors are classified in heavy construction other than building if they are primarily engaged in activities such as grading for highway and airport runways; guardrail construction; installation of highway signs; asphalt and concrete construction of roads, highways, streets and public sidewalks; trenching; cable laying; conduit construction; underwater rock removal; pipeline wrapping; or land clearing and leveling.
Other special trade contractors undertake activities of a type that are either specialized to building construction or may be undertaken for building or non-building projects. These activities include painting (including bridge painting and traffic lane painting) and electrical work (including work on bridges, power lines and power plants).
The installation of prefabricated building equipment and materials by general and special trade contractors is classified in this sector.
Manufacturing
The manufacturing sector includes establishments engaged in the mechanical or chemical transformation of materials or substances into new products. These establishments are usually described as plants, factories, or mills and characteristically use power driven machines and materials handling equipment. Establishments engaged in assembling component parts of manufactured products are also considered manufacturing if the new product is neither a structure nor other fixed improvement. Also included is the blending of materials, such as lubricating oils, plastics resins, or liquors.
The materials processed by manufacturing establishments include products of agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, and quarrying as well as products of other manufacturing establishments. The new product of a manufacturing establishment may be finished in the sense that it is ready for utilization or consumption, or it may be semi-finished to become a raw material for an establishment engaged in further manufacturing.
Transport
This sector includes establishments providing, to the general public or to other business enterprises, passenger and freight transportation, communications services, or electricity, gas, steam, water or sanitary services. Establishments of the United States Postal Service are excluded from Area Vitality Profiles.
For many of the industries in this sector, the establishments have activities, workers, and physical facilities distributed over an extensive geographic area. For this sector, the establishment is represented by a relatively permanent office, shop, station, terminal, or warehouse, etc. that is either (1) directly responsible for supervising such activities or (2) the base from which personnel operate to carry out these activities. The establishments classified in this sector furnish services to the general public or to other business enterprises.
Wholesale
This sector includes establishments or places of business primarily engaged in selling merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional, farm, construction contractors, or professional business users; or to other wholesalers; or acting as agents or brokers in buying merchandise for or selling merchandise to such persons or companies.
The chief functions of establishments included in the Wholesale sector are selling goods to trading establishments, or to industrial, commercial, institutional, farm, construction contractors, or professional business users; and bringing buyer and seller together. In addition to selling, functions frequently performed by wholesale establishments include maintaining inventories of goods; extending credit; physically assembling, sorting, and grading goods in large lots; breaking bulk and redistribution in smaller lots; delivery; refrigeration; and various types of promotion such as advertising and label designing.
Retail
This sector includes establishments engaged in selling merchandise for personal or household consumption and rendering services incidental to the sale of the goods. In general, retail establishments are classified by kind of business according to the principal lines of commodities sold (groceries, hardware, etc.), or the usual trade designation (drug store, cigar store, etc.). Some of the important characteristics of retail trade establishments are: the establishment is usually a place of business and is engaged in activities to attract the general public to buy; the establishment buys or receives merchandise as well as sells; the establishment may process its products, but such processing is incidental or subordinate to selling; the establishment is considered as retail in the trade; and the establishment sells to customers for personal or household use. Not all of these characteristics need be present.
For the most part, establishments engaged in retail trade sell merchandise to the general public for personal or household consumption.
Finance
This sector includes establishments operating primarily in the fields of finance, insurance, and real estate. Finance includes depository institutions, non-depository credit institutions, holding (but not predominantly operating) companies, other investment companies, brokers and dealers in securities and commodity contracts, and security and commodity exchanges. Insurance covers carriers of all types of insurance, and insurance agents and brokers. Real estate includes owners, lessors, lessees, buyers, sellers, agents, and developers of real estate.
Services
This sector includes establishments primarily engaged in providing a wide variety of services for individuals, business and government establishments, and other organizations. Hotels and other lodging places; establishments providing personal, business, repair, and amusement services; health, legal, engineering, and other professional services; educational institutions; membership organizations, and other miscellaneous services, are included.
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