Quarter by quarter, small businesses with fewer than 500 workers continued to outperform large firms in net job creation three out of four times from 1992 through 2010, when private-sector employment rose, according to data in the latest edition of The Small Business Economy.
The newest edition is formatted to improve the accessibility of the data in an online series of tables on small business in the economy and small business financing. This rich collection of information about small business contributions to the economy and trends over time is offered this year, for the first time, in tabular form online in place of the paperback report.
The latest years covered in this summary were challenging for small businesses, as the economy recovered from the recent recession. Section A documents various aspects of small business participation in the American economy. Many economic indicators began to show positive improvement in the months following the end of the recession.
The Office of Advocacy also tracks small business financing trends in The Small Business Economy. This year the key financial data in Section B track trends such as movements in interest rates, credit market borrowing by businesses, their sources and uses of funds, finance company borrowing, initial public offerings of common stock, and venture capital.
Overall, the period covered in the report shows improvement over the previous period, as small firms increasingly started up, created jobs, and stimulated economic growth.
—Kathryn Tobias, Senior Editor