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Researchers ask Census about NAICS detail, municipio data and microdata access for BFS
Summary
In the webinar Q&A, participants asked whether BFS would publish municipio‑level data for Puerto Rico, how granular NAICS industry breakdowns can be, and whether IRS microdata are available through FSRDCs; Census staff said municipio releases are being explored with no timeline, three‑digit NAICS is the practical annual maximum, and IRS microdata are not available to external researchers at FSRDCs under current agreements.
During the question‑and‑answer portion of the Census webinar, attendees pressed Census staff on the availability of more granular geography and industry detail and on access to microdata via research data centers.
Clara Santiago Bella asked whether BFS statistics will be published by municipios (municipalities). Mario Marazzi, Puerto Rico FSRDC administrator, said: “That’s a great question. ... there is no timeline for that. But it's certainly a possibility. And I think that it would be very useful, to really see which municipios ... are generating the most applications in Puerto Rico.” He added that additional research is required before municipio‑level releases would be possible.
On industry detail, attendees asked how far NAICS disaggregation can go and whether researchers could obtain sector‑level files such as medical‑device classifications. Emin Dinlersoz said weekly and monthly national releases include two‑digit sector series and that three‑digit NAICS detail is produced as annual files (with retrospective weekly granularity) but that going to four‑digit or more granular NAICS at detailed geographies is often infeasible because of confidentiality and disclosure protections.
A separate question asked whether IRS microdata on business applications are available to external researchers through Federal Statistical Research Data Centers (FSRDCs). Mario Marazzi replied: “My understanding is the business application data from the IRS micro data are not available for external research projects at the FSRDC. The agreements between the Census Bureau and the IRS simply don't allow it.”
The presenters encouraged researchers to use the BFS program page and the Business and Industry time series download tools on the Census website for available public files and documentation, and they reiterated that some richer microdata or finer disaggregations are constrained by privacy rules and interagency agreements.
