By Nora Esposito, Economic Research Fellow
Business Growth
The number of Hispanic-owned employer businesses in the U.S. has been expanding.
From 2014 to 2016, growth in the percent change of the number of Hispanic-owned businesses was 13 percent, higher than that of any other racial or ethnic group. Over the same time period, growth in Hispanic-owned employer businesses was followed by 12 percent growth in the number of Black/African American-owned businesses, and nearly 10 percent growth in the number of employer businesses owned by Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.
Economic Contributions
Hispanic-owned employer businesses contribute to the U.S. economy in several ways. In 2016, the 337,533 Hispanic-owned employer firms in the U.S. employed nearly 2.8 million workers, with the average Hispanic-owned firm having eight employees. Hispanic-owned firms’ total annual payroll added up to over $91 million in 2016, which was 18 percent higher than the same figure in 2014. On whole, sales from Hispanic-owned businesses contributed $408 million to the U.S. economy, an increase of 22 percent since 2014. The majority of Hispanic-owned employer businesses are small businesses as 99.9 percent had less than 500 employees.
Top Industries
Hispanic-owned employer businesses are active in many fields. In 2016, top sectors in terms of employment were accommodation and food services with 566,861 employees, followed by administrative and support and waste management and remediation services with 318,603 employees. Other top industries for employment were construction, as well as healthcare and social assistance, with 314,780 and 300,731 employees respectively.
Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2016 Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs