The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Census 2000 Table of Contents

Background

• An Overview
• The Affect of an Undercount on Local Communities
• Children
• Workers And Their Families
• Education
• People of Color
• Individuals With Disabilities
• Senior Citizens
• Rural Areas
• Business

Census Bureau's Plan

• The Census Bureau's Plan For Census 2000
• Legal Challenges To Sampling
• How Do We Know There Is An Undercount?
• The Difference Between Redistricting and Reapportionment
• What The Experts Say
• What The Newspapers Say
• Frequently Asked Questions
• The Importance Of The Ancestry Question
• Achieving Accuracy In The 2000 Census

Census History

• Facts and Figures
• Census History: 1790-1990
• Census Timeline: 1990-2000

Census 2000 In Your Community

• How You Can Start Preparing For A Fair And Complete Count
• Contacting The Census Bureau

Business

"An inaccurate Census would also punish business. The Census provides a wealth of demographic detail that companies depend on for marketing and planning." Business Week, Commentary by Howard Gleckman - September 22, 1997

Businesses of all sizes and types rely on Census data to reach decisions that allow them to operate more efficiently. The business community utilizes Census data for marketing, hiring, selecting site locations, as well as forecasting future demand for goods and services. In short, Census data help businesses to make more knowledgeable decisions about the people they serve and thereby enhance overall economic performance.

Site selection is one common application of Census data for the business community

• Census data (age, race, gender, income, occupation, household composition, the number of vehicles available to a household, and the cost of shelter) assist businesses in choosing where to locate new stores, banks, fast food restaurants, and other retail or service enterprises;
• Bank lenders and insurance companies use Census data to evaluate financial risks and investment planning;
• Builders and contractors are particularly interested in housing-related Census data in order to select sites for new housing construction as well as rehabilitation projects.

Census data are critical for businesses to better understand the local labor supply

• A major concern to the business community is having an adequate supply of skilled workers. Census data provide this needed information so that businesses are able to determine whether a geographic area has the labor force skills needed for a specific industry; and,
• Census data also are critical in helping administrators, personnel managers, and employees to determine whether a firm is complying with federal regulations that promote fair employment practices.

Census data help businesses target their goods and services to particular consumers

• Businesses selling products or services to specific demographic groups use Census data to help forecast changing trends in their consumer attitudes, behaviors, and lifestyles. For example, Census data showing growth in single-person households have prompted companies to produce various lines of single-serving portions of packaged foods;
• Businesses use demographic, social, economic, and housing data from the Census for their marketing and advertising campaigns; and,
• Service organizations such as Big Brothers of America use data on the characteristics of young men such as age, education, occupation, and income to estimate the number of potential volunteers in metropolitan areas.