Economic Development Recovery and Resiliency Playbook - Flipbook - Page 52
Because the employment and industry data generally does not include information that readily allows for tracking equity
and inclusion, the location-based data can serve as an important bridge toward identifying the extent to which changes to
the economic base disproportionately impact diverse groups of residents and businesses. The location-based data can track
socioeconomic and demographic factors as well as indices that combine data to track things like environmental justice and
COVID-19 vulnerability.
Business license and tax data. While a lot of
economic base information leaves gaps or has
limitations related to accuracy, local business
license data and tax data represent a potential
source of information that can be leveraged for
economic base information. Business license
data can greatly vary by jurisdiction and industry
sector, with some jurisdictions not issuing business
licenses.63 However, some localities’ business
license data includes additional information about
location, industry classifications, number of jobs,
establishment size, and more.
Unlike data maintained by state or federal agencies,
the business license data is entirely local and
therefore not subject to any third-party time lags
in data reporting; for example, business license
renewals provide a measure of year-over-year
continuity for an individual business. Failure
to renew the license provides an indicator of a
business closure, and this data can be aggregated at
a neighborhood level to serve as an early indicator
of how a particular area in a city has been impacted
by significant events.
At San José City Hall (above), staf use data to monitor local
business base and industry cluster performance.
Sales tax data is another source of information that jurisdictions or their hired auditors analyze. Changes to the sales tax base for
specific neighborhoods and districts can provide additional early indicators of potential impacts from significant events.
The utility of business license and sales tax data depends on its availability to various municipal and/or county departments
and on ensuring the business license data includes the information that can provide early indications of potential economic
base changes. Ofen, the departments that collect this information keep it tightly guarded over confidentiality concerns and do
not share it with other departments; and some rural counties do not require business licenses, which can complicate
conducting an analysis.
The City of San José provides an excellent example of how to use location-based data. The city covers over 180 square miles
and has a population of 1,029,782. Its large size — in terms of both geography and number of residents — makes conducting an
economic analysis more challenging. Consequently, San José’s economic development staf has historically used employment
and business license data to help identify and monitor how the local business base and industry clusters perform.
In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city found that the pandemic had disproportionately impacted small businesses and
local-serving businesses more than the larger employers and export-focused industry clusters.
To address this disparate impact and prioritize resources for economic recovery, San José shifed to a more geographic focus,
using GIS to identify areas in the city where business displacement was taking place. Its business license data also includes
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For many jurisdictions that do not ofer business licenses, a fictitious business name (FBN) is required for businesses that do not use the personal name in
the company name.
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CALED | Economic Development Recovery and Resiliency Playbook
