Transcript by:
Federal News Service
Washington, D.C.
JACQUE MASON: I’m Jacque Mason, assistant associate director of the US Census Bureau, and we want to thank the Department of Commerce for allowing us to come to our home mother ship to have this – share this great, exciting news today. The Survey of Business Owners on Hispanic-owned firms.
We’re going to hear from Tom Mesenbourg, associate director for economic programs, Valerie Strang, survey technician for the economic census branch of the US Census Bureau. And then we’re pleased to be joined by Michael Barrera, president and CEO of the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Ron Langston, national director of the Minority Business Development Agency.
Please hold your questions for the end. We will field questions at the end, and we want to thank all of you for coming today. We’re really pleased that we didn’t have the snow and rain that were forecast, so glad to have the sun shining on this news. Let me turn it over to Tom Mesenbourg, associate director for the economic programs at the US Census Bureau. Thank you, Tom.
TOM MESENBOURG: Thank you, Stephen. Thank you, Jacque. Well, good morning. It’s my pleasure to welcome all of you to this news conference. Today we are releasing exciting information about Hispanic-owned businesses, and these data are the by-product of our 2002 Survey of Business Owners. But before we discuss the survey results and hear from our distinguished panelists, let me take a couple of minutes to set the stage.
The United States Census Bureau produces a wealth of information about the nation’s economy. For example, 122 times a year we release principal economic indicator reports on retail sales, on construction activity, on international trade, on corporate profits, and on manufacturers, shipments and orders, to name but just a few. And while the economic indicators serve as important barometers of current economic conditions, the economic census, done once every five years, provides comprehensive information about the nation’s 23 million businesses.
Since 2004 we have released almost 1,500 reports from the 2002 economic census. These reports provide detailed information on over 900 different industries and generate detailed geographic information providing economic statistics for states, for counties, for cities, and places with 2,500 or more inhabitants.
But the Census Bureau’s current economic statistics program, our monthly, quarterly, and annual programs, when combined with the economic census, create an intricate and multi-faceted mosaic of the US economy. Heretofore, however, the mosaic described business activity in different economic sectors, in different industries, in different locations. But the mosaic did not portray any information about the characteristics of the owners of those businesses, the men and women that make businesses living organisms, that are born, live, and sometimes die.
Today we release new statistics from the Census Bureau’s 2002 survey of business owners that illustrate the growing diversity of our nation’s business owners. Today’s report on Hispanic-owned business, combined with the recent release on women-owned business and the upcoming releases by racial group increase the richness, the texture, and the usefulness of our economic statistics mosaic. This fall we will release the first information in more than a decade on the characteristics of businesses and business owners. Information will be provided on home-based, family-owned, and franchise businesses, as well as providing information about sources of capital. In terms of business owners, we’ll be showing additional information about their age, their hours worked, educational attainment and veteran status.
But before we hear from our panel, I want to provide you with a few facts about the survey of business owners. The survey result we’ll be discussing this morning covers calendar year 2002 activities. The data were actually collected in 2003 and 2004. In 2003 we mailed out a sample to 1.3 million businesses with paid employees, and we collected that data in the second half of 2003. A year later, mid-2004, we sent out a sample of 1.2 million businesses without paid employees – sole proprietorships and mom and pop stores.In an effort to produce more timely information from the 2002 Survey of Business Owners, we issued an advanced report on characteristics of employer business owners in February 2005, followed in July by preliminary estimates of business ownership by gender, Hispanic origin, and race. And all of the reports from the SBO series are available at www.census.gov.
There are four things you need to know about the 2002 Survey of Business Owners program. First, we changed the name from the former Survey of Minority and Women-Owned Business enterprises, to the Survey of Business Owners, reflecting the fact that we’re providing detailed information on the characteristics of all kinds of businesses. Second, the 2002 Survey of Business Owners uses the North American Industry Classification System to classify industries, rather than the old antiquated standard industrial classification system. So in the 2002 reports we’ll be providing data on 19 economic sectors under NAICS versus the nine sectors that we provided under the old SIC. So there will be lots more detailed information, especially on service industries.
Third, the 2002 Survey of Business Owners program uses the 1997 OMB standards for reporting race and ethnicity. The new standard recognizes Asians as a separate group from native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders, and the 2002 reports will be showing Asians as a separate group. The most important change, however, was allowing respondents the option of selecting one or more racial designations. Since the 2002 SBO permitted businesses to report multiple races, the businesses could be tabulated in more than one racial group if they satisfied the 51 percent ownership rule. Because of multiple race reporting, we will not be issuing a 2002 report showing total minority ownership.
Fourth and final change is the 2002 survey collected detailed information on the characteristics of both the business and the business owners. The 2002 survey marks the first time this information was collected from the entire sample of 2.5 million businesses. In calendar year 1992 we collected more limited characteristics information in a separate survey. We actually only asked those – the sample was only 125,000 businesses. So we have significantly expanded that.
Finally, let me thank the millions of businesses that took the time to complete and return their 2002 Survey of Business Owners report form. Without their cooperation and participation we would not have been able to produce these statistics.
Now let’s turn to some of the results of the 2002 report on Hispanic-owned businesses. And I’m going to be introducing Valerie Strang will be our first speaker. Valerie has been a Census Bureau employee since 1983, and for the last 13 years she has been responsible for the Survey of Business Owners program. And her leadership has been instrumental in implementing the new and improved 2002 Survey of Business Owners. Valerie?
VALERIE STRANG: Good morning, everyone. One phrase kept coming to mind last week when I was preparing my remarks. Every picture tells a story. But today I would like to tell you a story that paints a picture, one that the Census Bureau began painting in July of last year when we released the first estimates from the 2002 Survey of Business Owners on Hispanic-owned firms. At that time, estimates at the national level by kind of business and by state were made available. Now we have not only the final estimates at these levels, but also more detail on the kinds of businesses Hispanics own by state and metropolitan area, the counties and places in which these businesses operate, and the size of these businesses, both in terms of employment and revenue.
The results of the 2002 Survey of Business Owners show that between 1997 and 2002 Hispanic-owned firms grew by 31 percent. That’s three times the national average for all businesses. There were nearly 1.6 million Hispanic-owned firms operating in the United States in 2002. These businesses generated more than $222 billion in revenue. That’s a 19 percent increase since 1997. Thirteen percent of all Hispanic-owned firms in 2002 had at least one paid employee other than the owner. They had more than 1.5 million workers.
Although the number of Hispanic firms with paid employees went down by 6 percent between 1997 and 2002, overall receipts for these firms increased by 13 percent, reaching $180 billion, 81 percent of the total revenue for all Hispanic-owned firms. And the number of employees increased by 11 percent, higher than the national average of 7 percent.
Four states – California, Florida, New York and Texas – showed the largest increase in number of employees between 1997 and 2002. The average number of employees per firm ranged from a high of 35 in the forestry, fishing, and hunting, agriculture, support services industry, to a low of 4 employees per firm for the utility, finance and insurance, real estate, and rental and leasing industries, as well as other services such as repair and maintenance. The average receipts for these employer firms was $899,000. The industries accounting for the largest share of receipts for employer firms included wholesale trade, retail trade, and construction.
The data also show that more Hispanics are going into business for themselves, without hiring additional employees. Between 1997 and 2002, the number of these sole proprietorships and mom and pop businesses increased by nearly 386,000, to reach 1.4 million. That’s a 39 percent increase, more than three times the national average of 12 percent. Businesses run by Hispanic entrepreneurs with no paid employees took in $42.4 billion in revenue, up by 54 percent over 1997. The industries accounting for the largest share of these receipts include construction, transportation and warehousing, and retail trade, followed by other services such as repair and maintenance.
Four states – California, Texas, Florida and New York – showed the largest increase in the number of firms with no paid employees, and revenue between 1997 and 2002. In 2002 retail and wholesale trade accounted for 35.9 percent of all Hispanic-owned business revenue, followed by construction and manufacturing. Nearly 3 in every 10 Hispanic-owned firms operated in construction and other services such as personal services and repair and maintenance.
The new data released today shows strong growth in the number of Hispanic-owned businesses in diverse parts of the country. The states with some of the fastest rates of growth for Hispanic-owned firms between 1997 and 2002 included New York, Rhode Island, and Georgia, Nevada, and South Carolina. Four states accounted for the highest number of Hispanic-owned firms in 2002, as well as the largest increase in number of firms. California led all states with 427,000 Hispanic-owned businesses, an increase of 91,000 firms since 1997. Fifteen percent of all businesses in the state of California are Hispanic-owned. Texas ranked second, with 319,000 firms, an increase of 78,000 firms since 1997. Eighteen percent of all businesses in the state are Hispanic-owned.
Florida ranked third, with an increase of 72,825 firms since 1997, to reach 266,000. Seventeen percent of all businesses in the state of Florida are Hispanic-owned. New York came in fourth, with 163,000 firms, an increase of 59,000 since 1997. Ten percent of all businesses in the state of New York are Hispanic-owned. The counties with the highest number of Hispanic-owned firms in 2002 were Los Angeles, Miami-Dade County, Harris County and Bronx County, New York. The fastest rates of growth for counties between 1997 and 2002 included Madeira County, California, Osceola County, Florida, Martin County, Florida, Hoffman County, Texas, and Prince William County, Virginia.
Some cities with the highest number of Hispanic-owned firms in 2002 included New York City, Los Angeles, Houston, Texas, Miami, Florida, and San Antonio, Texas. The fastest rates of growth for cities between 1997 and 2002 included South Houston, Texas, Ivaldi (ph), Texas, Kissimmee, Florida, Bell Gardens, California, and Santa Paula, California.
Looking at the employment and receipts side of Hispanic-owned firms, the data shows that there were 29,184 Hispanic-owned firms operating in 2002, with receipts of $1 million or more, as compared with 26,000 in 1997, a 9.4 percent increase. There were 1,510 Hispanic-owned firms in 2002, with 100 employees or more, compared to 1,121 in 1997. That’s a 35 percent increase. Revenue for these Hispanic-owned firms reached nearly $42 billion, compared to $28 billion 1997. That’s a 50 percent increase.
When you look at just those Hispanic-owned firms with 500 or more employees, the number of firms increased 50 percent, from 115 to 183. But the revenue itself increased by 169 percent from $5.5 billion to $14.8 billion between 1997 and 2002. In 2002 firms owned by people of Mexican origin accounted for nearly 700,000, or 44 percent of all Hispanic-owned firms. Seventy-three percent of the businesses owned by Mexicans, Mexican-Americans and Chicanos in 2002 were located in California and Texas. Cuban-owned businesses accounted for about 10 percent of all Hispanic-owned firms in 2002, nearly 152,000. Seventy-four percent of all Cuban-owned businesses in 2002 were located in Florida. There were 109,000 Puerto Rican-owned firms representing almost 7 percent of all Hispanic-owned firms in 2002. Sixty-one percent of all businesses owned by Puerto Ricans were located in just three states – New York, Florida and New Jersey. Firms classified as other Spanish, Hispanic or Latino comprised 38 percent of all Hispanic-owned firms and operated in California, New York, Florida, and Texas, accounting for 71 percent of these businesses.
The Census Bureau has projected that over the next two generations, from 2000 to 2050, the US labor force will dramatically change in terms of racial and ethnic population. Hispanic in the labor force grew by 9.2 million in the previous generation, from 1980 to 2000. By 2050 Hispanics in the labor force will go from accounting for about 1 in 10 US workers to 1 in 4. Minority-owned businesses will therefore be on the forefront of these changes.
In conclusion, let me say I hope you have begun to visualize a picture in your mind, one that illustrates Hispanic-owned businesses are growing at a fast pace, and are vital contributors to the US economy.
Thank you.
MR. MESENBOURG: Thank you, Valerie.
It’s my pleasure to introduce Mr. Michael L. Barrera. Michael was named president and CEO of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on June 19, 2005. As president and CEO, Michael is responsible for increasing business opportunities for Hispanic entrepreneurs and delivering benefits and services to Chamber members and corporate partners. Prior to leading the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Michael was the national ombudsman for the US Small Business Administration, and also spearheaded the SBA office of capital access, the office of government contracting and business development, and SBA’s highly successful business matchmaking contracting service. So Michael?
MICHAEL BARRERA: Buenos dias. Hello, everyone.
First I want to acknowledge Tom Mesenbourg and thank you for the invite, Valerie. Thank you for all the great statistics. My good friend Ronald Langston, from the MBDA, we’ve had some great times together when I was with the government. And I also want to acknowledge Frank Lopez, the head of our foundation, the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation. And the members of the media.
I’m very honored to be here today and talk about these numbers, numbers that we’re very proud of at the USHCC, the success and growth of Hispanic entrepreneurs and business owners across the country here in the US. As the Census figures released today clearly reveal, they really reveal the growing economic influence of the Hispanic community in the business community and in as far as the overall consumer market. The number of Hispanic-owned business has grown at the rate of three times the national average. Latino-owned businesses have grown at six times the rate of the national average.
And while we’re very pleased with these numbers, we’re not really surprised. In fact, if you extrapolate the numbers that were released today, we estimate there’s at least 2 million Hispanic-owned businesses here in the US today, generating over $300 billion worth of goods and services. And we’ve seen that growth at the USHCC itself. In fact, our chambers are growing in places you wouldn’t normally anticipate. We’ve had calls from chambers – one is formed in South Dakota, which is reflected here. Alaska. We’ve had calls from Georgia, South Carolina. All these different states are asking to start growing chambers. In fact, we’ve seen our chamber grow from 130 chambers two years ago to 215, a 70 percent growth in Hispanic chambers over the last two years.
And there’s a lot of major factors we believe for the growth of Hispanic businesses. First of all, the Hispanic population is exploding. Technology is a big contributor. Three other factors I really want to mention, Hispanic women growth. With the growth of Hispanic women-owned business, that has contributed to the growth of Hispanic-owned business. Hispanic youth. Many people need to realize right now Hispanic – half of our population, 42 million people, is under the age of 27. One of every five children under the age of 5 is now an Hispanic child; 2.5 Hispanics are born every minute in this country. That means since I’ve started this speech, about four people have been born. So it’s just exploding. And as the youth start to gain the entrepreneurial spirit, you’re going to see a growing influence of Hispanic-owned business in the country as it continues to expand.
Also, immigrants play a big part in the growth of Hispanic businesses. Many people need to realize that Hispanic immigrants are not just job-takers. They’re job creators. You see a lot of Hispanic immigrants going into communities where there’s been actually areas that have not been paid attention to and they’ve grown those areas without help from government agencies, and they do it on their own. And because they have to be there to actually service that booming Hispanic growth in those areas.
Hispanic growth has also reflected the overall growth of the Hispanic community, both in terms of population and consumer spending. Hispanics are now 14 percent of the US population. By 2050, one out over four persons born in this country will be of Hispanic descent. In fact, there are more Hispanics today than there are Canadians. We’re a country of our own basically almost, here in the United States. Also, our purchasing power. The Hispanic purchasing power is now $700 billion a year. It’s bigger than the GDP of Mexico, it’s bigger than the GDP of Canada. We’re almost the second biggest economy in this whole hemisphere. The number Hispanics spend will be $1 trillion by 2010.
The number of Hispanic households earning over $100,000 a year grew 140 percent over the past decade, compared to just 77 percent of the general population. We’ve also seen the growth of these Hispanic entrepreneurs at events throughout this country. In fact, at our convention last year in Milwaukee, we had 3,500 Hispanic entrepreneurs to attend this convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This year in Philadelphia we expect it to be the largest Hispanic business event in the history of this country. And you can see why. If you look at just the chart there, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut are some of the fastest growing areas for Hispanic businesses, and they’re all just right down the road from Philadelphia. You’ve also got to include Virginia and DC in those numbers, and Maryland. So we expect that to be the largest Hispanic business event in this country.
I also want to invite the media to our legislative conference this year, where we’ll be talking about issues that are important to Hispanic business – immigration, telecommunications, and procurement are all important to the growth of Hispanic businesses.
The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation, with assistance from the MBDA and the US Census Bureau, will work together to continue to foster the continued growth and success of Hispanic-owned businesses, not just through major events but through training and affinity programs for business development. We will work together to provide resources and support for Hispanic entrepreneurs and empower Hispanic business owners to grow and expand their businesses to have a positive impact, not just on the Hispanic community but on the overall American economy.
With the kinds of growth rates that Hispanic businesses we’ve seen over the past decade, it’s not a surprise that Hispanic businesses are growing and flourishing in every community throughout this country, and not just in areas like Los Angeles, Miami and Texas, but also areas like Milwaukee, Atlanta, New Orleans and Philadelphia. As the number of Hispanics in this country continues to grow, so too will the influence, both politically, economically and educationally, as it captures and reflects further proof of the passion, energy and entrepreneurial spirit of the growing Hispanic community in the US.
On behalf of the USHCC and our 250 local affiliates nationwide, we are proud of the growth and influence of Hispanic businesses in this country and in the Hispanic community. Thank you so much.
MR. MESENBOURG: Thank you very much, Michael. It’s my pleasure to introduce Ronald N. Langston. President George W. Bush appointed Ron head of the Minority Business Development Agency on March 19, 2001. He’s the first individual to officially hold the title of national director. Ron has a wealth of experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, and has used that experience to transform MBDA from an administrative agency to an entrepreneurial organization. Ron has been a strong and vocal supporter of the Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners and his organization has helped us to improve and strengthen the Survey of Business Owners.
Ron?
RON LANGSTON: Good morning.
First of all, I’m very pleased to be here. I’m delighted. Valerie, what a pleasure to be with you again. She’s great. She’s one of our extended members of the family. Tom, what a pleasure. To my good friend Michael. We have had many miles together, and look forward to even more. Jacque, thank you for your support. And to E.R. Gregory, the under secretary of my secretarial colleague, she’s just been outstanding as the head of Economic Statistics Administration. I thank you for being here this morning.
Today’s news about the growth of Hispanic-owned businesses gives us all cause for celebration. It also validates the entrepreneurial spirit that built this country. It’s still alive and it is thriving. It also reaffirms the US is an entrepreneurial economy. In addition, the news put forth by the Census Bureau about the Hispanic-owned businesses and their firms continues to demonstrate that the national economy shows signs of not only vitality but continued economic strength. Specifically the economy has been growing for 17 straight quarters. The unemployment rate is 4.8 percent, lower than the average of the 1970s, the 1980s, and the 1990s. The economy created 243,000 jobs in February, and it has created about 2 million jobs over the past 12 months, and almost 5 million since August of 2003. And again, I thank the Economic Statistics Administration for providing these great data to all of us, and I hope we will observe and really take note of.
Now a driving force behind America’s economic competitiveness is the growth and expansion of minority business enterprises, but especially the 1.6 million Hispanic-owned firms. Michael, I know you’re proud, and you should be. As he said, it’s not surprising. Mr. Lopez, very good to see you, sir.
These firms, the Hispanic firms alone, represent, as noted by Valerie, 39 percent of all minority firms, 4.1 million in the United States that employ 1.5 million. Minority firms overall total about 4.8 million paid employees. Hispanics, 1.5, Asians, 2.3. Together they’re almost 80 percent of the group. That’s just an amazing statistic.
Now according to an MBDA commission study by the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, minority firms are critical to the overall success of the US economy. We at MBDA, we believe increased business ownership among minorities should be a national priority. This will help to realize the president’s vision of an ownership society. That is why President Bush has pushed for tax relief over the last five years. Tax relief has put $880 billion back in the hands of American workers, inventors, and especially small and minority entrepreneurs, and we encourage our minority business entrepreneurs to take advantage of that tax credit, to reinvest into R&D, and to grow and expand the businesses so they can use it more effectively in the worldwide economy.
Not only are Hispanic-owned firms growing at a much faster rate than the national average, but so are African-American, Asian, and other minority firms. Each and every one of the 4.1 million firms are in a position to generate long-term economic employment and growth in their local communities, federal and state. Why? I think it was also important to take a moment to note that we see the US productivity has been growing at about 3.5 percent over the last years, that American workers are 17 percent more productive than they were in 2001. Increased productivity means America will continue to be competitive in the global marketplace, and American workers – American workers will continue to enjoy a high standard of living.
Again, let me refocus your attention on the demographics. Against this backdrop we also continue to see the US minority population expanding much more rapidly than the majority population. Minorities, as was noted, will account for 90 percent of the overall US population growth between 2000 and 2050. The growth in the labor force will be largely fueled by immigrants, and by 2050 1 out of every 4 US workers will be Hispanic. The United States will once again become a nation of immigrants. The difference, ladies and gentlemen, will be that immigration will be people of color.
Now some will fear this change. I say, let us embrace the change. Clearly the data from the US Census Bureau Survey of Business Owners documents the economic contributions of minority entrepreneurs. America must continue to lead the world in competitiveness, innovation, and creativity. Our greatest resource advantage in the world has always been our educated, hard-working, ambitious people, and we’re going to keep that edge. But if the national minority business enterprise community does not grow in size, scale, scope and capabilities, then we have failed in our mission. If the national minority business enterprise community is not generating wealth, America will not be prosperous.
The president’s goal is to keep the country strong by creating economic opportunities so that entrepreneurial spirit of the American people can flourish. And with the full participation of all Americans, our future will continue to be bright. So I want to thank again the Census Bureau for inviting me to take part in this. Michael, you know I love you, and I’m going to be there for you. And Mr. Lopez, I’ll be there for the foundation. It’s very important that we work together, that we build upon this great relationship and help educate nationwide all the communities about how great the minority business community, and particularly the Hispanic community is doing in this country.
I thank you very much on behalf of the president and Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez. Thank you very much.
MS. MASON: Thank you very much. Well, we’re going to open up to questions and answers here. If you would please state your name and your news organization, we’re going to take questions from accredited media only. And also if you would let us know to whom you would like to direct your question. Any questions for our panel today? Yes, Steve Ohlemacher.
Q: Yes, Steve Ohlemacher, with the Associated Press. Michael Barrera, would you talk a little bit about the growth in the Hispanic consumer market? I know you said that right now it’s about $700 billion. Would you give us a little historical context as to where it was, and talk a little bit about how that’s fueling the growth in the Hispanic-owned businesses?
MR. BARRERA: Well, the Hispanic consumer market, I think we’ve seen a recent statistic, it’s really surprised a lot of people how rapidly it’s grown. And again, we’re expecting that to be $1 trillion by 2010. So when you think about that Hispanic consumer market, who knows that consumer market best? That’s going to be the businesses that are already based there. So a lot of these Hispanic-owned businesses are part of that consumer market, so they know that. Their families are part of that market, their friends are part of that market, their employees are part of that market. So they’re the ones that are best able to actually address those markets and service those markets. So I think that has had a lot to do with the growth of Hispanic business, is the Hispanic consumer market.
If you look at the Hispanic consumer market, it’s actually changing a lot of the fabric in America. It was interesting that right now salsa outsells ketchup. Tortillas now outsell Wonder bread, and these types of things are actually changing the actual fabric of consumer, not just Hispanic consumer spent, but the consumer spent overall in the nation’s economy.
MS. MASON: Anyone else? Yes, sir.
Q: This would be for –
MS. MASON: Your name?
Q: (Off-mike and inaudible.) What is the definition of Hispanic? I mean, is this a self-definition by people who take your surveys? And second, do you have any statistics on the number of Hispanic businesses that are women-owned?
MS. STRANG: Our definition of a minority business is 51 percent or more of the interest or stock in the company. And the questionnaire itself does allow an owner to identify with the race or the ethnic group with which they most closely identify. So yes, it is self-reporting. And as far as gender data for Hispanic-owned businesses, that will come out in the company’s summary report, which is scheduled to be released in late August.
MR. BARRERA: On women-owned business, the Women’s Business Center came out with a statistic that’s about 554,000 women-owned businesses, Latino-owned businesses.
MS. MASON: Any other questions? Yes.
Q: (Off-mike and inaudible.) What kind of benefit, or what do you think you should be working on to allow more and more Hispanics to become business owners? You need to get better information and better financing or whatever you can provide? What are you working on in terms of having more Hispanics become owners?
MS. MASON: Let’s turn that over to Mr. Langston.
MR. LANGSTON: In general there are three keys to entrepreneurial success. One is access to capital, access to capital, access to capital. Two is education, financial literacy. We need to really focus on the fact that the more that we understand how to run the back room, how to have strategic partners and alliances to make sure that we can survive and not just wait until the last minute to find your CPA or your lawyer, but have a team, that’s key. The third key entrepreneurial for success is technology. Using technology as a business tool, and getting engaged in e-commerce.
So Hispanics, as well as African-Americans, Asians, Native Americans, they all need to focus on those three entrepreneurial successes. But Hispanics have been very, very dominant in their willingness to vote with their feet, to move to different parts of the country. I mean, I’m from the state of Iowa and Iowa is not historically known for having a sizeable Hispanic population. But their population size is matching or expanding beyond historically African-American populations and other groups. They’re in Georgia, they’re in South Carolina. They’re in North Carolina, particularly in the Western part. So they’ve shown this great capacity to travel and to move, and I think if we can encourage them to partner, strategically align themselves, to move up the food chain because a great number of minority businesses, Hispanic businesses are, like you said, mom and pop. So if we can get them to grow and expand using those three keys, that’s what I would encourage the Hispanic community to do. I know Michael will work with them to support that as well.
MR. BARRERA: And I would echo what Ron, what he has said, because a lot of it is access to capital, education, and business opportunities. I think that’s starting to happen. We’re getting a lot of business opportunities with Hispanic market. We’ve got to start seeking those business opportunities internationally and business opportunities in the overall US economy. So all those things are very, very important.
MS. MASON: Yes, in the back.
Q: Chris (inaudible.) This is for anyone on the panel. Is there a snapshot of the businesses that are leading, what sector are they in? Especially in those states that have seen the most growth? What are these businesses producing, making?
MS. MASON: Let’s turn that over to Valerie. If you look at the booklet too, goes through a whole breakdown. Valerie, do you want to try to answer that?
MS. STRANG: We identified four states that had the highest number of Hispanic-owned businesses – California, Texas, Florida and New York. I don’t have any information on the specific kinds of businesses that are operating in that state. Not with me today, but that is part of the data that we released and it’s available on the web. Yes.
MS. MASON: Anyone else? Yes, ma’am.
Q: (Inaudible.) I would like to know if you have any statistics about the categories of the owners from El Salvador or Central America.
MS. STRANG: We do have four categories that appear on the questionnaire itself – Mexican, Mexican-American, and Chicano-Puerto Rican, Cuban, and then there’s an other Spanish, Hispano-Latino category. So Salvadorans would report in that category.
MR. LANGSTON: I would only add that to the visible eye, and as you talk to different people, again, myself not being Hispanic, I have become at least somewhat cognizant of the difference between Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Central Americans. And we’re seeing clearly in this area a lot of Central Americans, a lot of El Salvadorans. We’ve seen banks now created in Adams-Morgan that weren’t there before, and we’re seeing it in other parts.
So the influx and the growth and expansion of Central American groups are very key. The secretary is very focused, Secretary Gutierrez is very focused on the Central American free trade agreement, and we’re hoping that this population base with have the effect of reverse direct investment, to go back to El Salvador, Honduras, Central America, do reverse trade. I think that’s going to be a great asset for us here.
MS. MASON: I think Mr. Barrera wants to speak to this question as well.
MR. BARRERA: I just gave a speech in Mexico, and it’s interesting down there. I let people know the Hispanic community is not just Mexican any more. It really has changed. It’s Salvadoran, it’s Cuban, it’s Puerto Rican. And you look here in the DC area, Salvadorans are the number one, I guess, Spanish ethnic group here. And we’re starting to see there’s the US-Salvadoran Chamber of Commerce, Salvadoran Hispanic Chamber of Commerce now. There’s the Central American Chamber of Commerce out in Los Angeles. So it’s growing not just in traditional areas like here. It’s growing all over the country where there’s Central Americans, Salvadorans included, throughout the country. So it’s really starting to explode in all sectors.
MS. MASON: We have time for one more question. Anyone?
Okay. Well, thank you so much for joining us. We have time for individual Q&A for members of our panel for about 10 minutes. Thank you again for coming. Thank you to the Commerce Department for allowing us to come here today. And thank you all for coming.
(End of press conference.)
