The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) groups establishments into industries according to their primary economic activities. It facilitates the collection, calculation, presentation, and analysis of statistical data by industry. The United States, Canada, and Mexico developed the system to provide comparable statistics among North American Free Trade Agreement countries. Statistical agencies in these countries use NAICS to produce information by industry on inputs and outputs, productivity, industrial performance, unit labor cost, and employment. Both government and business use this information to understand industries and the economy.

NAICS is founded on a production-oriented conceptual framework. It groups establishments according to similarity in the processes used to produce services or goods. This supply-based framework delineates differences in production technologies. In this system, an industry is not solely a grouping of products or services.

Background

The NAICS replaced the Standard Industrial Classification...