North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) For More Information Anne Jackson, IWD 1000 East Grand Avenue Des Moines, IA 50319 515/281-5151

North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS)

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS, pronounced Nakes) was developed under the direction and guidance of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as the standard for use by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the collection, tabulation, presentation, and analysis of statistical data describing the U.S. economy. Use of the standard provides uniformity and comparability in the presentation of these statistical data. NAICS is based on a production-oriented concept, meaning that it groups establishments into industries according to similarity in the processes used to produce goods or services. NAICS replaced the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system in 1997.

NAICS was initially developed and subsequently revised by Mexico's INEGI, Statistics Canada, and the U.S. Economic Classification Policy Committee (the latter acting on behalf of OMB). The goal of this collaboration was to produce common industry definitions for Canada, Mexico, and the United States. These common definitions facilitate economic analyses of the economies of the three North American countries. The statistical agencies in the three countries produce information on inputs and outputs, industrial performance, productivity, unit labor costs, and employment. NAICS, which is based on a production-oriented concept, ensures maximum usefulness of industrial statistics for these and similar purposes.

NAICS in the United States was designed for statistical purposes. However, NAICS is frequently used for various administrative, regulatory, contracting, taxation, and other non-statistical purposes. For example, some state governments offer tax incentives to businesses classified in specified NAICS industries. Some contracting authorities require businesses to register their NAICS codes, which are used to determine eligibility to bid on certain contracts. The requirements for these non-statistical purposes played no role in the initial development of NAICS or its later revisions.

If you have any questions during the development of this tool please feel free to contact Elonda Bacon at 515/725-0302 or e-mail her at iowa.epcra@dnr.iowa.gov.