US SIC: The Standard Industrial Classification
The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) is a system for classifying industries into distinctive groups. It was developed in the United States in 1937 to standardize the reporting on economic activities by different government agencies. Since then, the system has been largely replaced by the North American Industry Classification System, however, some public and private institutions continue to use SIC codes classify businesses.
Metadata
| Publisher type | National |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Jurisdictions | USA |
Available versions
- Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1987 (Current)
- Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1972 (Legacy)
- Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1967 (Legacy)
- Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1957 (Legacy)
- Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1945/1949 (Legacy)
- Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1941/1942 (Legacy)
The discussion around creating the standardized classification of economic activities began in 1934 at an Interdepartmental Conference on Industrial Classification. At that time, there were a number of different, inconsistent classification systems used by individual government agencies. As a result, it was impossible to accurately compare statistics from one agency to another. For example, if one agency reported on production output, and other on employment, there was no way to link that data.
In 1937 an Interdepartmental Committee on Industrial Classification was established to do develop a plan for and promote the adoption of a unified classification of economic activities. Quite interestingly, the entire classification was not developed in "one go". First, in 1938 they created a list of manufacturing industries, and the following year a list of non-manufacturing industries. This was still not a complete classification, since it missed the descriptions. Such descriptions were added to both lists in 1940.
Ultimately, the first version of the manual for Manufacturing Industries was published in 1941, and for Nonmanufacturing Industries in 1942. After the end of World War II, the classification of Manufacturing Industries was updated, and published in 1945. The corresponding update to the part II, Nonmanufacturing Industries manual was published only in 1949.
The first edition of Standard Industrial Classification was the version from year 1957, published in 1963. Further updated editions were developed in 1967, 1972 and 1987. The edition from 1987 is the final edition of Standard Industrial Classification. The work on classifying industrial activities continued as a joint effort between United States, Canada and Mexico, and resulted in the North American Industry Classification System, which was first adopted in the U.S. & Canada in 1997.
Versions
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1987 (Current)
The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1987 took official effect on January 1, 1987, until its replacement in 1997 by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
Changes between SIC 1972 and SIC 1987
SIC 1987 was a major review of the classification system accounting for significant technological and institutional developments in the United States at the time such as deregulation which brought about significant growth in the services sector. SIC 1987 therefore provided greater detail, updating and clarifying the definition of activities in light of developments in the decade following the release of SIC 1972. In summary, most of the new industries created in SIC 1987 were in the Services (19), Wholesale Trade (8), and Manufacturing (7) Divisions. Several industries in SIC 1972 were reconstituted to enhance the accuracy of the classifications. The changes in SIC 1987 also involved the renumbering of some industries without any alteration in content in order to accommodate the changes at the three-digit level.
Structure of SIC 1987
SIC 1987 is hierarchically structured into four levels, as follows:
Division: 10 divisions identified by the capital letters A-J. There is also a Division K for "Nonclassifiable Establishments".
Major Group: 82 Major Groups identified by two-digit codes.
Industry Group: 414 Industry Groups identified by three-digit codes.
Industry: 995 industries identified by four-digit codes. This is the finest level of detail in SIC 1987.
The table below shows the composition of the 10 divisions of SIC 1987. The Manufacturing Division is the most detailed with 458 Industries which is 46% of all the Industries in SIC 1987. The Services and Wholesale Trade Divisions follow with 149 and 68 industries respectively.
Division | Title | Major Groups | Industry Groups | Industries |
A | Agriculture, forestry, and fishing | 5 | 23 | 58 |
B | Mining | 4 | 20 | 30 |
C | Construction | 3 | 14 | 25 |
D | Manufacturing | 20 | 140 | 458 |
E | Transportation, communications, electric, gas, and sanitary services | 10 | 37 | 66 |
F | Wholesale trade | 2 | 18 | 68 |
G | Retail trade | 8 | 40 | 63 |
H | Finance, insurance, and real estate | 7 | 30 | 52 |
I | Services | 16 | 71 | 149 |
J | Public administration | 7 | 21 | 26 |
Total | 82 | 414 | 995 |
Resources
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1972 (Legacy)
The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1972 was in effect in the United States between 1972 and 1987. A supplement to SIC 1972 was published in 1977.
Changes between SIC 1967 and SIC 1972
A notable methodological development in SIC 1972 had to do with the consideration of ownership characteristics. All establishments involved in the same kind of economic activity are grouped without regard to their ownership, be they government agencies, corporations, sole proprietors, joint ventures etc. Consequently, the Government Division from SIC 1967 was dropped and government establishments were classified based on their main economic activity and not by ownership form. A supplement to SIC 1972 was published in 1977 in which two new Industries were created which are 3716 (Motor homes) and 6798 (Real Estate Investment Trusts) and two codes from SIC 1967 were dropped which are 404 (Railway Express Service) and 4041 (Railway express service).
Structure of SIC 1972
SIC 1987 is hierarchically structured into four levels, as follows:
Division: 10 divisions identified by the capital letters A-J. There is also a Division K for "Nonclassifiable Establishments".
Major Group: 83 Major Groups identified by two-digit codes.
Industry Group: 418 Industry Groups identified by three-digit codes.
Industry: 1004 industries identified by four-digit codes.
Resources
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1967 (Legacy)
The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1967 was in effect in the United States between 1967 and 1972.
Changes between SIC 1957 and SIC 1967
Several Industries across Divisions were reconstituted in SIC 1967 through splits and mergers. For example, the industry 5051 (Farm products - raw materials) of SIC 1957 was disaggregated in SIC 1967 into the industries 5052 (Cotton), 5053 (Grain), and 5054 (Livestock). Moreover, some less relevant manufacturing industries in SIC 1957 such were relegated to the "Manufacturing Industries, Not Elsewhere Classified (nec)" code in SIC 1967.
Structure of SIC 1967
SIC 1967 was hierarchically structured into four levels, as follows:
Division: 10 divisions identified by the capital letters A-I. There is also a Division J for "Nonclassifiable Establishments".
Major Group: 73 Major Groups identified by two-digit codes.
Industry Group: 379 Industry Groups identified by three-digit codes.
Industry: 914 industries identified by four-digit codes.
Resources
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1957 (Legacy)
The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1957 was in effect in the United States between 1957 and 1967. A supplement to SIC 1957 was published in 1963.
Changes between SIC 1945/1949 and SIC 1957
Among the prominent changes in SIC 1957 was the creation of separate Major Groups in Division A (Agriculture, forestry and fisheries) for commercial and noncommercial farms. Changes also involved the relocation of a number of activities from trade to manufacturing and the expansion of detail in the classification of government. In the supplement to SIC 1957 released in 1963, several new industries were created through the merger or reconstitution of existing industries. Consequently, the supplement also adjusted several industry titles and descriptions.
Structure of SIC 1957
SIC 1957 is hierarchically structured into four levels, as follows:
Division: 10 divisions identified by the capital letters A-I. There is also a Division J for "Nonclassifiable Establishments".
Major Group: 79 Major Groups identified by two-digit codes.
Industry Group: 386 Industry Groups identified by three-digit codes.
Industry: 1000 industries identified by four-digit codes.
Resources
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1945/1949 (Legacy)
The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1945 was published in two volumes. The first volume which covered only manufacturing industries was published in November 1945. The second volume covering nonmanufacturing industries was published in May 1949. Both volumes operated until 1957.
Changes between SIC 1941/1942 and SIC 1945/1949
The overall aim of SIC 1945 was to account for the transformation of the American industrial landscape in the aftermath of World War II. Key changes in SIC 1945 included a substantial revision of manufacturing industries related to textiles and chemicals while basic adjustments were made in few other Industries.
Structure of SIC 1945/1949
SIC 1945/1949 was hierarchically structured into four levels, as follows:
Division: 10 divisions identified by the capital letters A-J. There is also a Division K for "Nonclassifiable Establishments".
Major Group: 78 Major Groups identified by two-digit codes.
Industry Group: 402 Industry Groups identified by three-digit codes.
Industry: 921 industries identified by four-digit codes.
Resources
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1941/1942 (Legacy)
The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1941 was published in two volumes. The first volume which covered only manufacturing industries was published in 1941. The second volume covering nonmanufacturing industries was published in 1942.
Structure of SIC 1941
SIC 1941 was hierarchically structured into four levels, as follows:
Division: 9 divisions identified by the capital letters A-I.
Major Group: 91 Major Groups identified by two-digit codes.
Industry Group: 519 Industry Groups identified by three-digit codes.
Industry: 1530 industries identified by four-digit codes.
Versions Prior to SIC 1941
The first edition of the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) for the United States was published in 1938 by the U.S. Bureau of the Budget (now the Office of Management and Budget) with the aim of standardizing industry classification for use in economic censuses, administrative records, and government statistical reports. Focusing on the manufacturing and extractive industries, the SIC 1938 laid the groundwork for subsequent versions which provided more detail to nonmanufacturing industries.
Resources
Where is it used?
The most notable current use of Standard Industrial Classification (1987 version) includes U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
SIC codes were part of the eligibility criteria for government programs such as the Department of Transportation's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program and the Enterprise Zone Tax Benefit Program in Missouri.
SIC codes are currently used for a range of market research purposes such as identifying industry trends, identifying competitors and clients, among others.