
The term “Small Business” brings to mind an image that is dependent upon an individual’s background. To some, it may be a one-person business, maybe a local business, or only a few employees.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, “2018 Small Business Profile”, there are 30.2 million small businesses in the United States which, by the way, comprise 99.9% of all the businesses in the United States. Also, those small businesses employ 58.9 million employees which is 47.5% of the private workforce in the United States.
Typically the U.S. Small Business Administration defines a small business as an organization with fewer than 500 employees and not a governmental entity.
The following table is from the 2018 Small Business Administration (SBA) Small Business Profile and shows the number of small businesses by industry and number of employees. So, the organizations that are single person entrepreneurships are by far the most prevalent.
Industry | 1-499 Employees | 1-20 Employees | No employees | Total Small Firms |
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 796,737 | 747,952 | 3,410,855 | 4,207,592 |
Other Services (except Public Administration) | 680,783 | 635,810 | 3,695,012 | 4,375,795 |
Construction | 668,196 | 615,701 | 2,430,014 | 3,098,210 |
Health Care and Social Assistance | 652,900 | 569,088 | 1,978,850 | 2,631,750 |
Retail Trade | 650,133 | 594,267 | 1,985,553 | 2,635,686 |
Accommodation and Food Services | 515,566 | 401,142 | 371,413 | 886,979 |
Administrative, Support, and Waste Management | 331,964 | 295,202 | 2,069,144 | 2,401,108 |
Wholesale Trade | 304,031 | 262,019 | 417,272 | 721,303 |
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 290,173 | 277,338 | 2,635,780 | 2,925,953 |
Manufacturing | 247,961 | 187,862 | 355,467 | 603,428 |
Finance and Insurance | 235,726 | 218,939 | 718,472 | 954,198 |
Transportation and Warehousing | 177,150 | 157,974 | 1,528,264 | 1,705,414 |
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 122,089 | 106,357 | 1,341,733 | 1,463,822 |
Educational Services | 88,826 | 70,210 | 710,383 | 799,209 |
Information | 73,028 | 63,321 | 328,995 | 402,023 |
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction | 21,657 | 18,157 | 98,134 | 119,791 |
Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing and Hunting | 21,584 | 20,210 | 236,094 | 257,678 |
Utilities | 5,706 | 4,493 | 19,968 | 25,674 |
TOTAL | 5,881,267 | 5,265,682 | 24,331,403 | 30,212,670 |
The SBA also has this information broken down by state at the following URL:
https://www.sba.gov/advocacy/small-business-profiles-states-and-territories-2016
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