Questions about the Industry
What is the size of my industry? What are the trends? How do companies in my industry do marketing, organization, or operations?
Government Statistics
The U.S. Government agency responsible for collecting and publishing the bulk of industry statistics is the U.S. Census Bureau, a division of the Commerce Department. Reports based on these statistics are organized by NAICS, the North American Industry Classification System. [http://www.census.gov/ eos/www/naics/]
Every five years (years ending in 2 and 7), a comprehensive Economic Census is conducted to gather details about economic activity by sector and by state, and, in most cases, for counties and cities as well. [https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/economic-census.html]
Industry Overviews
Dozens of Small Business Snapshots for industry sectors are profiled by the SBDC National Information Clearinghouse. [http://www.sbdcnet.org/category/small-business-research-reports]
Selected Industry Statistics and Financial Ratios are available for sole proprietorships and corporations from BizStats. [http://www.bizstats.com]
A short list of associations in eleven industry sectors are covered by Boogar Associates' Associations: Directory. [http://www.boogar.com/resources/associations/]
Magazine & News Articles
The Business Source Elite database at JerseyClicks will provide articles published in hundreds of trade journals and business magazines. After clicking on Business Source Elite, you will have to enter your local New Jersey public library card number. You can then search for articles on industry trends, products and services, and marketing and promotion. [http://www.jerseyclicks.org]
Also at JerseyClicks is the Regional Business News database with access to articles from NJBiz, Crain's New York Business, and dozens of other local and regional business papers. [http://www.jerseyclicks.org]