The mining, quarry and oil-and-gas extraction sector has shown the greatest growth in recent years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012 Economic Census Advance Report—the first widespread look at the economy since the recession.

From 2007 to 2012, the geologically focused industry increased revenues 34 percent to $555.2 billion, while the number of businesses in the sector grew 26.4 percent and the number of employees rose more than 23 percent to 903,641.

“The growth shown in the 2012 Economic Census in the mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction sector supports the population growth we see in parts of the Great Plains,” said Census Bureau Director John H. Thompson. “These data drive our understanding of the economy and, when considered in context of our demographic data, provide insight into growth trends.”

The report’s other findings include:

• The retail sector had the most businesses in 2012 (almost 1.1 million), but the number of employees declined 5 percent since 2007.

• The utilities sector had the least businesses (17,804) in 2012, but it realized the highest average revenue per business of more than $29 million.

• The health care and social assistance sector maintained the most employees with more than 18 million in 2012, an increase of 10.7 percent or 1.8 million people since 2007—the highest numerical increase of employees in any sector in the report.

• The wholesale trade, manufacturing and retail trade continued to be the largest sectors in the U.S. economy in 2012. However, employment in each sector declined since 2007, including a 15.9 percent decrease in manufacturing workers. Still, wholesale businesses reported more than $7 trillion in revenue in 2012, an increase of about 10 percent from $6.5 trillion in 2007.

• The accommodation and food services sector in 2012 reported the lowest payroll per employee ($16,374).

For technical reasons, data for the construction sector and the management of companies and enterprises sector was excluded in this report, but will appear in later reports.

“The economic census is one of the Commerce Department’s most valuable data resources,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. “By providing a close-up look at millions of U.S. companies in thousands of industries, the economic census is an important tool that informs policy at the local, state and national level, and helps businesses make critical decisions that drive economic growth and job creation.”