Census to Survey Business Owners About 1 million business owners will receive a U.S. Census survey next month, asking for information about their companies and their personal backgrounds. The information will help shape federal, state and local governments’ business-assistance programs. The Survey of Business Owners is taken every five years. Answers to the questions in the survey are, by law, confidential. Survey respondents will be asked about the gender, race and ethnic background of business owners. The survey features new questions about the age, education, veteran status and primary business functions of the business owners. Other new questions ask when the business was started; sources of equity capital for start-up or acquisition; and types of customers and employees. Also new are questions about home-based businesses, family-owned businesses and franchises. The Small Business Administration, the Minority Business Development Agency and other agencies will use the data to allocate resources for their business-promotion programs. Private firms, economic development organizations and individuals use the findings to evaluate industries and markets. “This survey is part of the 2002 Economic Census, which describes the economy from the national to the local level,” said Louis Kincannon, Census Bureau director. “It also helps shape the way we, as a country, do business.” “The information from this survey will highlight the importance of small businesses to the U.S. economy and, more importantly, show the diversity of small business owners,” said SBA Administrator Hector Barreto. “For instance, economists at the Office of Advocacy will use these data to prepare reports on the traits of small business owners, including gender, ethnicity and veteran status. Such research is vital for sound public policy.”