African American businesses still small and underrepresented based on population
WASHINGTON (February 8, 2011) – The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and the U.S. Census Bureau today announced that the number of African American-owned firms increased by 60.5 percent between 2002 and 2007 to 1.9 million firms, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2007 Survey of Business Owners.
Employment at these firms grew 22 percent from 754,000 to 921,000 workers, a significantly higher rate than that of non-minority-owned firms between 2002 and 2007.
“We are encouraged by the overall growth of the minority business community, including African American-owned businesses, but we still have a lot of work to do,” said MBDA National Director David A. Hinson. “Creating new businesses and new jobs on a path to entrepreneurial parity in size, scope and capacity is our primary goal.”
While minority-owned firms are experiencing substantial growth, African American-owned businesses still only represent 7 percent of all classifiable firms but 12 percent of the adult population. In 2007, average gross receipts for African American-owned firms actually decreased by 3 percent from $74,000 per firm in 2002 to $72,000. Gross receipts for all minority-owned firms are still well below the average gross receipts for non-minority-owned firms, which averaged $490,000 in 2007.