Small Businesses Drive Job Growth in the U.S.; Account for 1.9  Million Net New Jobs, Latest Data Shows

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Office of Advocacy, an independent office within the U.S. Small Business Administration, today released its annual Small Business Profiles. The user-friendly profiles utilize the most recent statistics on employment, industry, and economic growth from federal data sources to create a small business narrative unique to each state.

The United States’s 2018 Small Business Profile shows that small businesses added 1.9 million net new jobs during the latest year studied. There are 30.2 million small businesses in the United States, which employ 47.5 percent of the state’s private workforce. The top three industries for small business employment in the United States are (1) health care and social assistance, (2) accommodation and food services, and (3) retail trade.

“Small businesses are the United States’s economic engine,” said Acting Chief Counsel Major L. Clark, III, “they are the key to the state’s ability to grow economic output, entrepreneurship, and private sector employment.”

Among other findings, the 2018 State Profile reveals that in the third quarter of 2017, the United States grew at an annual rate of 3.4 percent. In January 2018, the unemployment rate was 4.1 percent, down from 4.7 percent in January 2017.

“The Small Business Profiles are a valuable resource for researchers, stakeholders, and small entities who are interested in small businesses’ contributions to the U.S. and state economies,” continued Clark.

The profiles are based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Department of Labor, and other federal agencies. They include the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the United States, and the U.S. territories.

For individual state and U.S. profiles, visit the Office of Advocacy State Economic Profile page.