How to find the stuff: Astute business people will turn to the new census data, which can provide surprisingly detailed information on their customers

New Mexico Business Journal, Nov, 2001

THE LATEST NUMBERS ARE IN WELL, actually, the new numbers are always coming in--it's more a matter of how and where to find the best stuff. Information collectors and data analysts say that generally the best source of numbers of all kinds is the U.S. government census. In the Denver region of the Census office, which includes New Mexico, around 60 percent of the requests for data come from the private sector, says agency spokesman Jerry O' Donnell. But officials say there are other information portals that shouldn't be overlooked.

And it's most all of it is available on the Internet, though in constantly changing and updated forms. First, the census data:

* www.census.gov is the starting point for the whole range of historical and recently released statistics. But the census agency has also created a more user-friendly and accessible entry point. It's called "American FactFinder," and can be found at:

* www.factfinder.census.gov, which offers users a variety of tables and ways to compile and compare data. "It's unique, a real simple process for people who want to find data quickly" O'Donnell says. "There's no other source of data like it. You can go down to the neighborhood level." For instance, someone considering a business opportunity in the South Valley of Albuquerque can isolate that area, even though it's not an incorporated place, he said. All kinds of social and economic characteristics can be found, ranging from education levels and ancestry to work experience and occupations. Much of the 2000 census data in those categories will be released by next March. But considerable information from the 'American community survey" will be available at the Internet site by October.

More specialized business-related information can also be located at the American FactFinder site. It's the data gathered every five years in the "economic census." The last survey was conducted in 1997, so that information is now becoming available. It's the latest data -- another survey is scheduled for next year, but the results won't be available until 2004. The economic census offers a snapshot of most of the American economy though it doesn't include government and agriculture. It lists specific kinds of establishments, employment levels, payroll and output, including revenue and receipts.

"It's a really powerful thing," says Kevin Kargacin of the University of New Mexico's Bureau of Business and Economic Research who works with census data. But Kargacin also adds a cautionary note -- one that can be applied in various forms to all kinds of data. As information becomes more specific to areas, "disclosure" regulations kick in; in other words, if a specific business could be discerned, the data is omitted for confidentiality reasons. "It's a fact of life you live with in economic data," Kargacin says.

Yet another approach to find business establishment information is from Census Bureau's "County Business Patterns" (access it through the bureau's homepage by clicking on "subjects, A to Z") which offers data through 1999. The main drawback is that the information only breaks down to county levels, and is therefore not as detailed as the materials from the economic census.

Another government agency, the U.S. Department of Commerce, also collects and disperses a wealth of data on business and economic activity. Detailed personal income and earnings data through 1999 can be located, customized to New Mexico and specific counties. It's at:

* www.bea.doc.gov, which contains information that is updated and revised annually

On a more New Mexico-oriented level, other more specific business information is available from a state agency, the New Mexico Department of Labor. The agency's website is:

* www.dol.state.nm.us, where the "Labor Market Review" offers the most current information on employment and unemployment levels and an array of facts and figures relating to businesses that is updated at the beginning.

* To get information on communities, though not specifically business-related, the New Mexico State Library offers a starting point, at:

* www.find-it.state.nm.us, which offers a single directory of all Internet sites at virtually all levels of government.

But as everybody connected with statistics, data and information will tell you, there's no end to searching. New findings are always arriving, information is updated or errors are corrected, so continued efforts are the key to keeping up the numbers.

RELATED ARTICLE: What the Census Means for Business.

DEMOGRAPHER DELY ALCANTARA spends a lot of time figuring out what census numbers mean. As soon as the results come trickling in, she's at work, trying to explain the population changes from decade to decade.

This time, from Alcantara's perspective, the most significant change in New Mexico is that for the first time, the state has a "minority-majority" population. That means the combination of persons who identify themselves as Hispanic or a member of racial minority outnumbers the largest majority racial group. It's a trend that became noticeable in the early 1990s, she said, but more pronounced as the state headed into the new millennium. Alcantara explains the shift in terms of migration. During the energy boom years, the jobs attracted a majority of non-Hispanic migrants who tended the leave once the boom collapsed. By contrast, the newer technological jobs bring in more minorities, she said.