NEWSRELEASE
For Release: October 11,
2005
Contact: John McDowell, (202) 205-6941
john.mcdowell@sba.gov
SBA Number: 05-32 ADVO
Press Kit
Small Business Drives Inner City Growth And Jobs
New Report Documents Dynamics Of Inner City Economies
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Small businesses are the drivers of inner city economies and job growth, according to a new study released today by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration. The report documents the dynamics of Americas inner city economies, which are larger and more active than is generally understood.
State of the Inner City Economies: Small Businesses in the Inner City reports that small businesses are the greatest source of net new employment in inner cities. They comprise more than 99 percent of inner city business establishments and they generate 80 percent of the total employment in those areas. In all, Americas inner city small businesses employ about nine million people, or eight percent of the U.S. private workforce.
This report demonstrates that local entrepreneurs are not only the backbone of inner city economies but their strongest source of new jobs, said Steve Adams Region I Advocate for the Office of Advocacy and formerly the Director of the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship at the Pioneer Institute. Policy makers should take note of these findings showing that supporting new and established entrepreneurs in inner cities should take priority in their urban development strategies.
The study is the result of a larger project undertaken by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) and partially funded by the Office of Advocacy. Other funders include the U.S. Economic Development Administration, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation.
The report notes that inner city businesses are similar to business in the rest of their Metropolitan Statistical Areas, exhibiting similar startup and bankruptcy rates. It also found that inner city job growth was concentrated in service industries, mirroring the trends in other areas.
The Office of Advocacy, the small business watchdog of the government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats and it funds research into small business issues.
For more information and a complete copy of the report, visit the Office of Advocacy web site at www.sba.gov/advo.
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The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business within the federal government. The presidentially appointed Chief Counsel for Advocacy advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policy makers. For more information, visit www.sba.gov/advo, or call (202) 205-6533.