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MBDA Partners with U.S. Census and The Kauffman Foundation to release first ever Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs

for immediate release
Contact: Dijon Rolle
Email: drolle@mbda.gov

 

WASHINGTON (September 12, 2016) — The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation recently released the first ever Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs. The survey, which highlights data from 2014, is designed to supplement the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners (SBO) conducted every five years. The most recent SBO data was released in December 2015.

The Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs provides a detailed socio-economic portrait of the nation's employer businesses broken down by gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status. Unlike the previous SBO, the Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs provides more recent information, including the number of years a firm has been in business.

“This survey is a game changer for us and for the Nation,” said MBDA National Director Alejandra Y. Castillo. “We now have even greater access to timely data that will help us identify significant trends and determine how to best use our federal resources to support minority entrepreneurs. Most importantly, we have the opportunity through our partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau and the Kauffman Foundation to share this same tool with communities, entrepreneurs and business leaders.”

Major highlights of the inaugural Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs include:

Among the 5.4 million U.S. firms with paid employees, 481,981, or 8.9 percent, had been in business for less than two years in 2014.

The nation's firms employed 115.1 million people and generated $33.0 trillion in receipts. Annual payroll totaled $5.6 trillion, or approximately $48,997 per employee.

Among the 5.4 million U.S. firms with paid employees, 481,981, or 8.9 percent, had been in business for less than two years in 2014.

Of the 949,318 minority-owned firms with paid employees, more than half at 506,595 (53.4 percent) were Asian-owned; 108,473 (11.4 percent) were black or African American-owned; 26,757 (2.8 percent) were American Indian or Alaska Native-owned; 4,701 (0.5 percent) were Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander-owned; and close to a third 298,563 (31.5 percent) were Hispanic-owned.

Women entrepreneurs owned approximately 1.1 million employer firms, or 19.4 percent, with receipts totaling $1.3 trillion, or 4.0 percent. Of these, 10.8 percent had been in business for less than two years, whereas 1.9 percent had been in business for 16 or more years.

More than one third (36.0 percent) of the 50 most populous metropolitan statistical areas had approximately 20.0 percent or more minority ownership of their employer businesses.

To view the complete survey visit www.Census.gov.

About the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)

MBDA, www.mbda.gov, is the only Federal agency dedicated to the growth and global competitiveness of U.S. minority-owned businesses. Our programs and services better equip minority-owned firms to create jobs, build scale and capacity, increase revenues and expand regionally, nationally and internationally. Services are provided through a network of MBDA Business Centers. After 47 years of service, MBDA continues to be a dedicated strategic partner to all U.S. minority-owned businesses, committed to providing programs and services that build size, scale and capacity through access to capital, contracts and markets. Follow us on Twitter @usmbda.