In conjunction with Small Business Month in May, the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce and Industry recognizes the United States Chamber of Commerce for its year-round efforts to shine a spotlight on innovators and entrepreneurs who serve their customers and communities.
The U.S. economy is driven by small businesses, which make up 99.9 percent of American businesses. There are 33.2 million small businesses employing nearly half of the American workforce (60 million or 46 percent) and represent 43.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Since the end of the Coronavirus Pandemic, slam businesses have created 5.5 million new jobs. That’s on top of 12.9 million new jobs created from 1996 through 2001.
All of the small businesses that employ between 10 and 19 employees collectively added more than 500,000 jobs to the U.S. economy of the past 10 years.
Small businesses pay their employees an average of $30.42 per hours, which equates to an annual income of $63,000.
Almost half of all small business owners are women, four in 10 of all small business owners are foreign born and one in five small businesses are owned by a racial minority. Hispanic-owned small businesses number one in every four, generating more than $100 billion in annual payroll.
Small businesses must build brand recognition and consumer trust while simultaneously competing for market share, employees and funding. Data shows that 20 percent of small businesses fail in their first year, with 65 percent failing within 10 years.
The smallest businesses (up to four employees) are most likely to use personal savings to finance their business, while larger small businesses (5 to 500 employees) still tap into personal savings and more likely to rely on credits cards and local banks/credit unions to fund their operations.
One in every three small businesses started out with less than a $5,000 investment and some six in 10 small businesses started out with less than a $25,000 investment.
The labor shortage is another headwind facing small business owners, with only 5.8 million unemployed workers available for 9.6 million job openings.