Number Of Minority-Owned Businesses Rising
By Mindy Finn
GOP.com Blog
The number of minority and women-owned businesses is rising. The New York Times reports, the numbers "grew in recent years at rates that were two or more times the national average, according to the United States Census Bureau, which released the statistics on Thursday.
In 2002, African-Americans owned 1.2 million businesses, an increase of 45 percent, or more than four times the national growth rate. The number of Hispanic-owned businesses grew 31 percent, or about three times the overall growth rate, to 1.6 million businesses. The number of Asian-owned businesses grew 24 percent over the period. The number of businesses owned by women increased by 20 percent, to 6.5 million, in the period."
USA Today adds that the Census Bureau survey "is closely watched by marketers, economists, politicians and others for clues about shifts in what has become the USA's fastest-growing small-business sector." USA adds, "Entrepreneurship experts and minority-business advocates say the growth reflects broader start-up trends. Professionals who leave big companies amid layoffs or early retirement are starting businesses instead of going to work for other companies, says Earl Graves, founder of Black Enterprise magazine. What's more, minority students who once would have worked for corporations right out of college are instead starting businesses."
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