Issued by U.S. Census Bureau
Website
http://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/index.html
Type
Industry
Status
Public
Definition
The North American Industry Classification System or NAICS is the standard used by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy.
Additional Information
NAICS (pronounced "nakes") was developed under the auspices of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and adopted in 1997 to replace the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. It was developed jointly by the U.S. Economic Classification Policy Committee (ECPC), Statistics Canada and Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Geografia, to allow for a high level of comparability in business statistics among the North American countries. The system is designed to be largely compatible with the United Nations Statistical Office's International Standard Industrial Classification System (ISIC). Versions are released every five years.
Wikipedia Entry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Industry_Classification_System