The U.S. Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) is an old U.S. statistical classification standard underlying all establishment-based Federal economic statistics classified by industry.
The SIC, most recently as SIC version [1987], was used to promote the comparability of establishment data describing various facets of the U.S. economy.
The classification covered the entire field of economic activities at that time and defined industries in accordance with the composition and structure of the U.S. economy.
It was first published as SIC [1937], and then was updated every 10 years as SIC [1947], [1957], ... [1987].
In the SIC methodology, the letter (A-K) or the number of digits in the Code indicates the classification hierarchy level, as follows:
| | SIC: | Division | Major Group | Industry Group | Industry | Business | Product |
|---|
| Code: | 1 letter | 2 digits | 3 digits | 4 digits | 5 digits | 6 digits |
|---|
| Counts: [1987]
Counts: [SEC] | 11
11 | 83
75 | 505
282 | 1,504
444 | — 15,219 —
— 5,553 — |
|---|
The SEC uses a modified subset of the SIC [1987] Industry Codes as its standard.
The Industry Codes subset that the SEC uses has only 430 (29%) of the 1,504 official SIC [1987] 4-digit Industry Codes, plus 14 unique SEC-specific Codes, so it is identified herein as SIC [SEC].
The SIC [SEC] Code that appears in a company’s disseminated EDGAR Filings indicates the company’s basic type of business.
The Code is used in the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance as a basis for assigning review responsibility for the company’s Filings.
(For details, see the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance: Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code List.)
Because SIC [SEC] contains only a small fraction of the SIC [1987] Codes,
SEC Info parses the SEC Filings for all SIC [1987] Codes in order to show more accurately and completely how Registrants classify themselves.
The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is a newer North American standard used by Federal agencies, such as the IRS, in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the North American economy.
The NAICS, most recently as NAICS version [2012], was developed under the auspices of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to replace SIC [1987].
It was developed jointly by the U.S. OMB, Canada and Mexico to allow for a high level of comparability in business statistics among the North American countries.
It was first published as NAICS [1997], and then was updated every five years as NAICS [2002], [2007], ... [2012].
In the NAICS methodology, the number of digits in the Code indicates the classification hierarchy level, as follows:
| | NAICS: | Sector | Subsector | Industry Group | Industry | Business | Product |
|---|
| Code: | 2 digits | 3 digits | 4 digits | 5 or 6 digits | – | – |
|---|
| Counts: [2007]
[2012] | 24
24 | 99
99 | 313
312 | 721 or 1,175
713 or 1,065 | — 19,720 —
— 19,255 — |
|---|
The SEC does not use the NAICS Codes, so SEC Info cross-references SIC [1987] with NAICS [2012] and presents both standards herein, mapping each SIC Code and NAICS Code to one or more of its counterparts. |
