Sociology 446: The Modern World System

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS):

The United States Census Bureau created a classification system for business entities called the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Several company databases and industry research databases use these to organize their information and it is useful to know these when looking for industry reports. These codes start at 2 numbers to identify broad industry group and move to 6 to identify specific industries. These codes were developed by the federal government and are used by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as well as many other U.S. statistical agencies. In 1997, OMB adopted NAICS as the new system that replaced SIC.

Example Codes:

315240 - Women's, Girls', and Infants' Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing

454110 - Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses

Standard Industry Classification (SIC) System:

The Standard Industry Classification (SIC) System was developed to define businesses in the 1930's, but it has not be updated since 1987 when NAICS was adopted. Some companies still use SIC codes and they tend to be used for historical research.

Translators and Descriptive Search Tools:

Commodity Code Translation Code: Enter codes to move between NAICS, SITC, or HTS codes.

Commodity Description Lookup: Descriptions of NAIC, SITC, HTS codes.