U.S. Census Bureau
Go to the dataQuestionnairesfeedbackRelated Programs
You are here: Economic Programs Overview -> Multi-Sector ->Survey of Business Owners and Self-Employed Persons (SBO)

SURVEY OF BUSINESS OWNERS AND SELF-EMPLOYED PERSONS
(formerly known as the Surveys of Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises)

PURPOSE

The Survey of Business Owners (SBO), formerly known as the Surveys of Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (SMOBE/SWOBE), provides periodic data for all U.S. businesses based on the 2002 Economic Census and estimates of business ownership by gender, Hispanic or Latino origin, and race based on the 2002 SBO. The United States Code, Titles 13 and 26, authorizes these data collections and provides for mandatory responses.

COVERAGE

Included are all nonfarm businesses filing 2002 tax forms as individual proprietorships, partnerships, or any type of corporation, and with receipts of $1,000 or more. The SBO covers both firms with paid employees and firms with no paid employees. The SBO is conducted on a company or firm basis rather than an establishment basis. A company or firm is a business consisting of one or more domestic establishments that the reporting firm specified under its ownership or control at the end of 2002.

The data in this report were compiled by combining data collected on businesses and business owners in the 2002 SBO with data collected on the main economic census and administrative records.

Business ownership is defined as having 51 percent or more of the stock or equity in the business and is categorized by:

Firms equally male-/female-owned were counted and tabulated as a separate category.

Businesses could be tabulated in more than one racial group. This can result because the sole owner reported more than one race; the majority owner reported more than one race; a majority combination of owners reported more than one race.

The detail may not add to the total or subgroup total because a Hispanic or Latino firm may be of any race, and because a firm could be tabulated in more than one racial group.

The sum of the subgroup detail for Hispanics or Latinos, Asians, and Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders may not add to the total because no one subgroup owned a majority of the firm, but a combination of these subgroups did own a majority. In this case, the firm was included in the Hispanic or Latino origin, Asian, or Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander estimate, but was not included in any of the subgroup estimates.

CONTENT

Data compiled or collected include the number of employer and nonemployer firms, sales and receipts, annual payroll, and employment. Data aggregates are presented by gender, Hispanic or Latino origin, and race for the United States by 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), kind of business, states, metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, counties, places, and employment and receipts size.

The SBO covers 19 NAICS industries, except those classified as:

FREQUENCY

Data have been collected every 5 years since 1972, for years ending in "2" and "7" as part of the economic censuses. The program began with special project data for minority-owned businesses for 1969; several changes in scope and methodology may affect data comparability for subsequent program years.

METHODS

To design the 2002 SBO sample, the Census Bureau used the following sources of information to estimate the probability that a business was minority- or women-owned:

These probabilities were then used to place each firm in the SBO universe in one of nine frames for sampling:

The SBO universe was stratified by state, industry, frame, and whether the company had paid employees in 2002. The Census Bureau selected large companies, including those operating in more than one state, with certainty. These companies were selected based on volume of sales, payroll, or number of paid employees. All certainty cases were sure to be selected and represented only themselves (i.e., had a selection probability of one and a sampling weight of one). The certainty cutoffs varied by sampling stratum, and each stratum was sampled at varying rates, depending on the number of firms in a particular industry in a particular state. The remaining universe was subjected to stratified systematic random sampling.

PRODUCTS

The following reports were published from the 2002 Economic Census, Company Statistics (CS) Series, Survey of Business Owners. The SBO data include totals for all U.S. businesses based on the 2002 Economic Census and estimates of business ownership by gender, Hispanic or Latino origin, and race based on the 2002 SBO. Estimates for equally male-/female-owned firms and publicly held companies and other businesses whose ownership cannot be classified by gender, Hispanic or Latino origin, and race are tabulated and published separately. The 2002 Characteristics of Businesses (CB) and the 2002 Characteristics of Business Owners (CBO) are new reports which present demographic and economic information about business owners and their business activities.

Minority-Owned Firms

American Indian and Alaska Native-Owned Firms

Asian-Owned Firms

Black-Owned Firms

Hispanic-Owned Firms

Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-Owned Firms


Data are presented by industry classifications and/or geographic area (states, metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, counties, and corporate municipalities (places) including cities, towns, townships, villages, and boroughs) and size of firm (employment and receipts). Data include estimates at the U.S., state, and metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area levels by detailed Asian or Pacific Islander group in the Asian-Owned Firms and the Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-Owned Firms reports; and by Hispanic subgroup in the Hispanic-Owned Firms report.

Women-Owned Firms. Data are presented by industry classifications and/or geographic area (states, metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, counties, and corporate municipalities (places) including cities, towns, townships, villages, and boroughs) and size of firm (employment and receipts).

Company Summary. Data include all businesses (minority-, nonminority-, female-, male-, and equally male-/female-owned; publicly held companies and other businesses whose ownership cannot be classified by gender, Hispanic or Latino origin, and race) and are presented by industry classifications and/or geographic area (states, metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, counties, and corporate municipalities (places) including cities, towns, townships, villages, and boroughs) and size of firm (employment and receipts).

Characteristics of Businesses. Data for respondent firms by Hispanic or Latino origin, race, and gender are presented by industry classifications at the U.S. level and by size of firm (employment and receipts). Data include additional demographic and economic business characteristics for home-based, family-owned, and franchised businesses; types of customers and workers; sources of financing for expansion, capital improvements, or start-up; the year the owner(s) in 2002 established, purchased, or acquired the business; and the sole proprietor's self-employment or business activities.

Characteristics of Business Owners. Data for the owners of respondent firms are presented by employment status and business interest. Data include additional demographic and economic owner characteristics, such as: Hispanic or Latino origin, race, gender, age, education level, and veteran status; average number of hours spent managing or working in the business; primary function in the business; and whether the business provided the primary source of personal income.

USES

The SBO statistics are used routinely by government program officials, industry organization leaders, economic and social analysts, and business entrepreneurs. Examples of data use include those by:

SPECIAL FEATURES

The SBO provides the only source of detailed and comprehensive data on the status, nature, and scope of women- and minority-owned businesses.

RELATED PROGRAMS

o Characteristics of Business Owners Survey

o Nonemployer Statistics

o Statistics of U.S. Businesses (SUSB)


EXPLORE INFORMATION

 

CONTINUE OVERVIEW

o Multi-Sector

 

o Next Program

o U.S. Economy

 

o Economy Overview


You are here: Economic Programs Overview ->Multi-Sector ->Survey of Business Owners and Self-Employed Persons (SBO)
 

Last revised: Tuesday, 21-Nov-2006 15:10:23 EST