This article details the particulars of Lightcast NAICS codes, outlining where they differ from standard NAICS and why.
Vintage
Lightcast moved to the 2022 NAICS classification with the 2023.3 datarun in July 2023.
All Lightcast dataruns between 2017.4 and 2023.2 use the 2017 NAICS classification.
Lightcast NAICS Particularities
No real-world public data source uses purely “standard” NAICS, including Lightcast. Lightcast differs from standard NAICS codes in the following:
Lightcast combines all industry data under 111 (Crop Production) and 112 (Animal Production) into single detailed codes: 111000 and 112000, respectively. This is due to the general lack of detailed and complete agricultural employment data present in QCEW, Lightcast's primary source of industry data. Roughly 75% of data points for the agricultural NAICS for sub-national geographies are suppressed. Users looking for more detailed data for these industries are encouraged to check QCEW, as more data may be available for their region.
Lightcast uses a single code, 482110 (Rail Transportation), as an aggregate of NAICS 482111 and 482112. The BLS does not provide information for these NAICS; Lightcast gathers this data from the Railroad Retirement Board, which uses NAICS 482110.
In Lightcast data, 491110 (Postal Service) represents private-sector United States Postal Service (USPS) contractors only. Actual USPS establishments are found in Lightcast code 901149.
Lightcast does not have data for 541120 (Offices of Notaries), because the BLS does not report any data for that category.
Lightcast creates a separate hierarchy for public-sector establishments under code 90 (Government), as explained below.
Government NAICS
QCEW data includes an ownership flag that indicates ownership by private firm, or federal, state, or local government. Establishments with each ownership type can be found throughout most NAICS in the hierarchy (e.g. state-run sewage treatment facilities found in standard NAICS 221320, alongside privately-owned facilities). Following the conventions of Current Employment Statistics (CES), Occupational Employment Statistics (OES), and BEA data sources, Lightcast re-classifies all government-run establishments into the appropriate Government NAICS:
90: Government
901: Federal Government
9011: Federal Government, Civilian
90114: US Postal Service
901149: US Postal Service
90119: Federal Government, Civilian, excluding Postal Service
901199: Federal Government, Civilian, excluding Postal Service
9012: Federal Government, Military
90120: Federal Government, Military
901200: Federal Government, Military
902: State Government
9026: Education and Hospitals (State Government)
90261: Education (State Government)
902611: Elementary and Secondary Schools (State Government)
902612: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (State Government)
902619: All Other Schools and Educational Support Services (State Government)
90262: Hospitals (State Government)
902622: Hospitals (State Government)
9029: State Government, excluding Education and Hospitals
90299: State Government, excluding Education and Hospitals
902999: State Government, excluding Education and Hospitals
903: Local Government
9036: Education and Hospitals (Local Government)
90361: Education (Local Government)
903611: Elementary and Secondary Schools (Local Government)
903612: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (Local Government)
903619: All Other Schools and Educational Support Services (Local Government)
90362: Hospitals (Local Government)
903622: Hospitals (Local Government)
9039: Local Government, excluding Education and Hospitals
90399: Local Government, excluding Education and Hospitals
903999: Local Government, excluding Education and Hospitals
Under this hierarchy, the state-run sewage treatment plant would be found in NAICS 902999, "State Government, excluding Education and Hospitals." Similarly, federal-government-run establishments in the "Courts" industry (NAICS 922110 in the standard classification) would be classified in NAICS 901199, "Federal Government, Civilian" in the Lightcast hierarchy. Again, a local Community College, classified in NAICS 611210 in standard NAICS, would be found in NAICS 903612, "Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (Local Government)".
Therefore, in Lightcast data, all establishments in the main NAICS hierarchy (all sectors other than 90) are privately owned only, including 611 (Educational Services) and 62 (Health Care and Social Assistance). Additionally, all establishments in NAICS 92 are reclassified under NAICS 90 (broken out above).
Because Lightcast utilizes other datasets (CES, BEA sources, OES) that use the above Government NAICS hierarchy, Lightcast follows the same convention.