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These and other statistics outlining the contribution of small
business to the economy are contained in the Small Business Profiles
for the States and Territories, 2005 Edition, issued Aug. 4 by the
Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
"Small business drives the American economy," said Dr. Chad Moutray,
chief economist for the Office of Advocacy. "Main Street provides
the jobs and spurs our economic growth. American entrepreneurs are
creative and productive, and these numbers prove it."
Small businesses are job creators. Data and research funded by
the Office of Advocacy show that small businesses represent 99.7
percent of all firms, they create more than half of the private
nonfarm gross domestic product, and they create 60 percent to 80
percent of the net new jobs.
In 2004, there were an estimated 23,974,500 businesses in the
U.S. Of the 5,683,700 firms with employees, 5,666,600 were small
firms (fewer than 500 employees). The latest data also show that in
2002 women owned 6,492,795 firms, blacks owned 1,197,988 firms,
Hispanics owned 1,574,159 firms, Asians owned 1,105,329 firms, and
American Indians and Alaskan natives owned 206,125 firms.
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 In 2004, there was strong growth of 7.3 percent in proprietor's
income -- a partial measure of small-business income. Business
bankruptcies decreased by 2.1 percent, and self-employment increased
by 2.2 percent. This and other data for each state and territory are
available in individual economic profiles on the Office of Advocacy
website, at
www.sba.gov/advo/research/profiles.
The Office of Advocacy, the "small business watchdog" of the
government, examines the role and status of small business in the
economy and independently represents the views of small business to
federal agencies, Congress and the president. It is the source for
small-business statistics presented in user-friendly formats, and it
funds research into small-business issues.
[News release from the Office
of Advocacy, U.S. Small Business
Administration]
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