How important are small businesses to the U.S. economy?
Small firms… Total approximately 23 million in the United States, with roughly 75 percent of the firms having no employees. Represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms. Employ half of all private sector employees. Pay 44.3 percent of the total U.S. private payroll. Generate 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs annually. Create more than 50 percent of nonfarm, private gross domestic product (GDP). Are employers of 39 percent of high tech workers (such as scientists, engineers, and computer workers). Made up 97 percent of all identified exporters and produced 29 percent of the known export value in FY 2001.Sources: U.S. Bureau of the Census; Advocacy-funded research by Joel Popkin and Company (Research Summary #211); U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey;U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration.
