You may notice a difference between our revenue and establishment figures compared to data from the US Census. This is because many of our reports include non-employing establishments, or nonemployers. These are businesses with no paid employees or payroll, usually independent contractors and small “mom and pop shops.”

If a report includes nonemployers, its revenue and establishment figures may not match the Census surveys because nonemployer data is sourced separately from employer data using the US Census Bureau’s Nonemployer Statistics survey.

For example, 96.7% of the 1.2 million establishments in our Performers and Creative Artists in the US (NAICS 71151) report in 2023 were nonemployers. Failing to include non-employers in this report would lead to a significant understatement of the industry's true size and impact.