Asian- and Pacific Islander-owned businesses [PDF] in the United States totaled about 913,000, employed more than 2.2 million people and generated $306.9 billion in revenues in 1997, according to a report released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau.

     Businesses owned by Asians and Pacific Islanders made up 4 percent of the nation's 20.8 million nonfarm businesses and generated 2 percent of all receipts.

     The vast majority of Asian- and Pacific Islander-owned firms, 71 percent or 648,300, were sole proprietorships (unincorporated businesses owned by individuals).

     For the first time, the data, which were collected in the 1997 Survey of Minority-Owned Business Enterprises, included C corporations. C corporations are incorporated businesses, excluding subchapter S corporations whose shareholders elect to be taxed as individuals rather than corporations. Nearly half of all revenues generated by Asian- and Pacific Islander-owned businesses were produced by 127,500 C corporations with receipts of $145.8 billion.

     The number of Asian- and Pacific Islander-owned firms, excluding C corporations for which prior data are not available, increased 30 percent from 1992 to 1997, compared with a 7 percent increase for all U.S. firms.

     Receipts of Asian- and Pacific Islander-owned firms rose 68 percent, to $161 billion in 1997, compared with a 40 percent increase for all U.S. firms over the same period.

     Four states, California (316,000), New York (123,300), Texas (60,200) and Hawaii (50,600), accounted for 60 percent of the firms owned by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Six out of 10 Asians and Pacific Islanders reside in these states.

     The following two tables show the top states by number and percentage of Asian- and Pacific Islander-owned firms.

 

     Twenty-eight percent (259,600) of Asian- and Pacific Islander-owned businesses had 1997 receipts of under $10,000, and about 5 percent (45,300) had sales of $1 million or more. Average receipts per firm were $336,200 compared with $410,600 for all U.S. firms excluding publicly held corporations and firms, such as mutual companies, whose owners' race or ethnicity could not be determined.

     The survey data also show that 32 percent, or 290,000, of Asian- and Pacific Islander-owned firms had paid employees. There were 2,100 firms with 100 or more employees.

     Forty-four percent of Asian- and Pacific Islander-owned firms were in the service industry and 21 percent were in retail trade. These two industries each had 22 percent of all receipts.

     The data in the report were collected as part of the 1997 Economic Census from a large sample of nonfarm businesses filing tax forms as sole proprietorships, partnerships or any type of corporation with receipts of $1,000 or more in 1997.

     The report, 1997 Survey of Minority-Owned Business Enterprises: Asians and Pacific Islanders, presents data for Asian- and Pacific Islander-owned businesses by size, type of business and geographic areas (states, counties, metropolitan areas and places).

     The data were collected in a sample survey and are subject to sampling variability, as well as nonsampling errors. Sources of nonsampling error include errors of response, nonreporting and coverage. Further information on survey design, methodology and data limitations are contained in the full report. Comparisons with 1992 data should be conducted with extreme caution due to changes in tax laws that caused inconsistencies between 1992 and 1997 data. Changes in survey methodology also could contribute to differences.