NAICS, (pronounced nakes) is the North American Industry Classification System. NAICS is used by business and government to classify and measure economic activity in Canada, Mexico and the United States. It replaces the older and now obsolete Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes.
The NAICS numbering system is a six-digit code. The first five digits are generally (although not always strictly) the same in all three countries. The last digit designates national industries. The first two digits designate the largest business sector, the third digit designates the subsector, the fourth digit designates the industry group, and the fifth digit designates particular industries.
The system is designed to be somewhat compatible with the United Nations Statistical Office's International Standard Industrial Classification System (ISIC). Work began on NAICS in the U.S. in 1992, when the Office of Management and Budget (OM) formed the U.S. Economic Classification Policy Committee (ECPC), staffed by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and the Census Bureau. NAICS takes into account the huge economic change towards service businesses. The first version is NAICS 1997. The next revision is NAICS 2002.
