Economic Censuses 2019

• To provide basic statistical information to update the System of National Accounts of Mexico, drawn from the development process of the base year change, the compilation of supply and use tables, the Input-Output Matrix, and the generation of the Gross Domestic Product. It also provides the necessary information for the Producer Price Index. 
• To contribute to the updating of the National Geostatistical Framework.
• To provide information on the previous count of housing units for the planning of the Census of Population and Housing.
• To generate information of a geographical, sectoral, and thematic type, which makes 100% of the update to the Framework for National Economic Surveys and Special Economic Studies carried out by the Institute possible.
• To provide the information required by the Statistical Business Register of Mexico (RENEM) for the generation of sampling frameworks and work universes of the different projects within the establishments of the Institute, as well as for the updating of the National Statistical Directory of Economic Units (DENUE) within all localities subject to collection.

The Economic Censuses began in 1930 as a manufacturing study. However, the constant economic and urban development of the country demanded continuous statistics, as a consequence, the five-year repetition of the Economic Censuses was established.

At the same time, the need for knowledge on economic indicators arose, not only on manufacturing activities but also on extractive ones, trade, services, transport, fishing, and, in general, on all economic activities that have been incorporated gradually into the Economic Censuses except for agriculture and forestry.

The observation unit concept is important because the census data are referred to it. The data collection of this concept mainly uses the establishment where most of the manufacturing, trade, and service activities that jointly represent most of the economic units of the country are carried out and is defined as:

The economic unit that, in a single physical location, permanently settled in a place and delimited by constructions or fixed facilities, combines actions and resources under the control of a single proprietor or controlling entity to carry out production activities of goods, purchase -sale of merchandise or provision of services; whether it be for profit or not. Due to how some economic activities have particular characteristics of operation, observation units different from those of the establishment were used; such is the case of the observation unit enterprise type, where their data accounts for the activity of all the establishments (headquarters and branches) that it has scattered throughout the national territory and also share the same legal entity or company name.  For these economic units, the geographical information refers to the location of the main headquarters.

Other observation units were adapted to the economic activity carried out, for example, for the fishing or aquaculture sector, the fishing or aquaculture unit was used; for mining activities, the mining unit was used; and for water collection, treatment and supply, the water operating body was used. 

The following table shows the different observation units used in the sectoral coverage of the Economic Censuses 2019, using the structure of the NAICS 2018. It includes all the services related to the activities of sectors 11, 21, 48-49, and 52, whose observation unit is the establishment.

Common census theme

According to the different economic sectors in the country, questionnaires were designed to collect information on all the economic units that carry out their activities, except agricultural ones. Said data collection instruments have had improvements through each census event, and have been submitted to Public Consultation before representatives of the public sector, business organizations and the academic and research sectors.The census questionnaires share a series of common and useful topics for the purposes of Mexican society:

• Geographical reference.
• Identification of the establishment.
• Location of the establishment.
• Legal category.
• Type of organization.
• Start of operations and total days worked.
• Economic classification.
• Employed personnel.
• Remunerations.
• Expenses for the consumption of goods and services.
• Fiscal and financial expenses and donations.
• Income from the supply of goods and services.
• Interest collected, subsidies and donations.
• Profit or loss.
• Production value.
• Stocks or inventories.
• Fixed assets.
• Credits and bank accounts.
• Information and Communication Technologies.
• Environment.
• Characteristics and management of the establishment.

In addition to the common theme, each questionnaire was designed with specific sections depending on the economic activities of the sector for which it was intended. For example, for the fishing sector, they inquired about the type of fishing and the arrival point location; in mining, about mining exploration and mineral production and sale. In each questionnaire the key issues for each economic sector were addressed and more comprehensive and differentiated information was obtained.

In order to facilitate that the filling out of the questionnaires are done correctly, instructions directed to both the operating personnel and to the informants were prepared and used, with examples and additional information in case of any uncertainty or if the indications and definitions required an explaination to improve the application of the questionnaire.

The following table presents the specific theme by economic activity, included in the different questionnaires used in the Economic Censuses 2019.

The Economic Censuses 2019 addressed new topics and expanded others that were already studied from previous censuses, in order to know in detail some aspects of these contents:

• Personnel turnover.
• Experience and training of personnel.
• Age ranges and educational level of the personnel.
• Proposals for improvement by the personnel.
• How the control of expenses and income is carried out.
• Main problems that the establishment faces.

The information collected from these topics will help in measuring the managerial skills of all types of businesses, and will favor a higher level of economic development in the face of a competitive environment within the local and national market.

Purchasing and sales via Internet. Through the use of the Internet and various payment methods, users can carry out this activity 24 hours a day. E-commerce makes it possible to hasten payments and contributions derived from the establishment's own activities.

The objective is to measure the use of e-commerce carried out by establishments by type of operations (purchases and sales), through the use of digital platforms. To achieve this, it is intended to know under what computer modality the commercial transactions are carried out, both for expenses and income. The variables involved are listed below:

• Suppliers website.
• Intermediaries website.
• Establishment website.
• Social media.
• Email.
• Another computer modality.

Collecting this type of information will make it possible to know the capital flows that are used in various marketing channels in the face of a growing virtual environment in most transactions, to achieve the placement of products in different markets.

Generation of renewable electrical energy. Today, there has been a substantial increase in installed capacity with renewable sources, derived from the rise in profitability of this type of technology that helps to take care of the environment, and is capable of producing electricity with energy sources that are renewed over time.

In order to have information on the incursion of the establishments in the generation of electrical energy, questions were asked about this type of assets drawn from renewable sources, such as wind turbines, solar cells, solar and photovoltaic panels, among others

• Change of proprietor or company name.
• Change of economic activity.

• Amount they represent in expenses and income.
• Influence on the permanence of businesses (demographics of businesses).
• Economic and geographical orientation of this business system.

In accordance with similar production processes or functions, all economic units were assigned an activity code with support from the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) in its 2018 version, which address the economic activity developed and the amount of income received. This activity is of vital importance since the review of the data quality through the validation systems was developed taking into account the activity of the establishment, and if it was not pre-classified, validation could not be applied.

NAICS 2018 is made up of 20 sectors of economic activity, which in turn are divided into 94 sub-sectors, 306 branches, 615 sub-branches and 1,084 classes of activity, of which 994 are covered by the Economic Censuses 2019.

The statistical information generated through this classification system makes possible its comparison regarding that obtained based on the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC Rev. 4) of the United Nations.

According to their geographical coverage, the activities that are the object of the Economic Censuses 2019 were divided into two large groups. Those for which information was collected throughout the national territory: Fishing and aquaculture; Mining; Electricity, water, and gas; Construction; Transport, mailing, and storage, as well as Financial and insurance services. On the other hand, the activities of Manufacturing, Trade, and Non-financial services, whose information was collected through a complete visit in the economically largest and most important geographical areas of the country and, through a sample in rural areas, where the geographical extension is quite broad, and the economic activity is significantly small.

The Economic Censuses 2019 collected basic economic information on virtually all economic activities carried out within the country, except for agricultural, livestock, and forestry activities, which are part of the Agricultural Census.

The Economic activities carried out in diplomatic headquarters and other extraterritorial units are excluded from the Economic Censuses because they are the responsibility of the countries they represent.

On the other hand, given the complexity and nature of these activities, the following are also excluded in this census: Urban and suburban collective passenger transport of fixed route automobiles; Passenger transport on taxi sites or taxi driving; Political associations and organizations; and Households with domestic employees.

The sectors of economic activity covered by the Economic Censuses are the following:

11 Agriculture, breeding and exploitation of animals, forest use, fishing and hunting (Branches 1125 and 1141, Aquaculture and Fishing).
21 Mining.
22 Generation, transmission, distribution and commercialization of electrical energy, water and natural gas supply by pipelines to the final consumer.
23 Construction.
31-33 Manufacturing industries
43 Wholesale trade.
46 Retail trade.
48-49 Transport, mailing and storage.
51 Information in mass media.
52 Financial and insurance services.
53 Real estate services and rental of movable and intangible property.
54 Professional, scientific and technical services.
55 Corporations.
56 Business support services, waste management, and remediation services.
61 Educational services.
62 Health and social welfare services.
71 Cultural and sports entertainment services, and other recreational services.
72 Temporary accommodation and food and beverage preparation services.
81 Other services except government activities.
93 Legislative, governmental, and law enforcement activities, as well as international and extraterritorial organizations (Sub-sector 931, Legislative, governmental and law enforcement activities)

The Economic Censuses 2019 collected corresponding information from January 1st to December 31st, 2018.

In some chapters within the questionnaires, a specific date is requested. For example, in stocks or inventory, the information corresponds to January 1st, 2018, and for fixed assets, the information corresponds to December 31st, 2018.