What Is An Establishment In The SIC Code System?

For purposes of this Standard Industrial Classification, an establishment is an economic unit, generally at a single physical location, where business is conducted or where services or industrial operations are performed. (For example: a factory, mill, store, hotel, movie theater, mine, farm, ranch, bank, railroad depot, airline terminal, sales office, warehouse, or central administrative office.) Where distinct and separate economic activities are performed at a single physical location (such as construction activities operated out of the same physical location as a lumber yard), each activity should be treated as a separate establishment where:

  1. No one industry description in the classification includes such combined activities;
  2. The employment in each such economic activity is significant; and
  3. Separate reports can be prepared on the number of employees, their wages and salaries, sales or receipts, and other types of establishment data.
For activities such as construction, transportation, communications, electric, gas, and sanitary services, and similar physically dispersed operations, establishments are represented by those relatively permanent main or branch offices, terminals, stations, etc., that are either:
  1. Directly responsible for supervising such activities, or 
  2. The base from which personnel operate to carry out these activities.
Hence, the individual sites, projects, fields, networks, lines, or systems of such dispersed activities are not ordinarily considered to be establishments. An establishment is not necessarily identical with the enterprise (company) which may consist of one or more establishments. Also, it is to be distinguished from subunits of the establishment such as departments. Supplemental interpretations of the definition of an establishment are included in the Division, Major Group, Industry Group, and Industry descriptions of the Standard Industrial Classification where appropriate. Auxiliary units [Link once page ready] are recognized as special types of establishments.