I was doing some research and came across some interesting statistics on small and service businesses on the US Small Business Administration and the US Dept. of Labor websites. They are based off the 2001 US census. Both websites are great sources of information so if you’re doing any type of market research, I suggest you start there first.
According to the US Small Business Administration, there were approximately 22.9 million businesses in the US in 2002. During 2002, 550,100 new firms were created while 584,000 closed.
Small firms represent more than 99.7% of all employers and generate 60-80% of net new jobs annually. Of the 22.9 million businesses, nearly 65% are those who are self-employed and have no employees.
Two-thirds of new firms employing workers survive at least 2 years. About half make it to 4 years. About 1/3 of those firms that close say their firm was successful at closure (ie. 2/3 are not!)
In 2001 there were 236,843 firms employing 5,123,111 people in Pennsylvania. 204,040 firms (86%) had less than 20 people.
Professional Services Stats
The government has recently switched all previous SIC codes to the newer NAISC format. Under NAISC, professional services I’ll focus on here are defined as:
NAISC 54: “The professional, scientific, and technical services sector comprises establishments that specialize in performing professional, scientific, and technical activities for others. Activities performed include: legal advice and representation; accounting, bookkeeping, and payroll services; architectural, engineering, and specialized design services; computer services; consulting services; research services; advertising services; photographic services; translation and interpretation services; veterinary services; and other professional, scientific, and technical services.”
In 2001, there were over 680,000 service businesses in the US that employed over 7.1 million people. Approx. 635,000 of those firms had less than 20 employees. This NAISC category represents about 5.2% of US employment and makes up 10.5% of all establishments. Businesses are considered ‘small’ if their annual sales are less than $6 million (although that does vary slightly for some categories).
Statistics from the 2001 Census
Lawyers – there were 1,045,7940 lawyers employed at 161,875 firms. 154,456 firms (95%) had less than 20 attorneys.
Computer systems design – 1,254,805 employees worked in 91,329 firms. 83,014 (91%) were firms with less than 20 employees.
Management, scientific, & technical consulting services – 102,083 firms employed 806,104 consultants. 96,343 firms (94%) had less than 20 employees.
Offices of real estate agents & brokers – 62,670 firms employed 283,959 agents and brokers. 60,738 firms (97%) had less than 20 employees. (actually NAISC 53).
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