Survey of Business Owners (SBO)

1992 Survey of Business Owners Press Releases

          
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    Public Information Office                                         CB96-127
    301-457-3030
    301-457-4067 (TDD)
    pio@census.gov

    Eddie Salyers
    Valerie Strang
    301-763-5726

               LARGE INCREASE IN NUMBER OF ASIAN, PACIFIC ISLANDER,
                  AMERICAN INDIAN, AND ALASKA NATIVE BUSINESSES
                   BETWEEN 1987 AND 1992, CENSUS BUREAU REPORTS

         EMBARGOED UNTIL:  AUGUST 1, 1996 (THURSDAY) - The number of businesses
    owned by Asians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Alaska Natives in
    the United States increased 61 percent from 439,271 in 1987 to 705,672 in
    1992, according to a report released today by the Commerce Department's
    Census Bureau, entitled "1992 Survey of Minority-Owned Business
    Enterprises--Asians and Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Alaska
    Natives" (MB92-3).  This compares to a rate increase of 26 percent for all
    U.S. firms, from 13.7 million in 1987 to 17.3 million in 1992.

         Receipts for these minority-owned businesses increased by 159 percent
    during this five-year span, from $40 to $104 billion.  In comparison, receipts
    for all U.S. firms grew 67 percent, from $2.0 to $3.3 trillion.

         The number of businesses owned by Asians and Pacific Islanders increased
    56 percent over this five-year period from 386,291 to 603,439, while receipts
    increased 163 percent from $36.5 to $96.0 billion.

         The number of American Indian- and Alaska Native-owned businesses
    increased 93 percent from 52,980 in 1987 to 102,234 in 1992.  Receipts for
    these businesses increased by 115 percent from $3.7 to $8.1 billion.

         Due to sampling methodology, detailed estimates are not available for all
    the minority-owned firms in the survey.  Therefore, the following statistics
    cover 606,438 of the total number (705,672) of businesses reported in the
    survey.

         Receipts per firm averaged $165,000 for firms owned by members of these
    four minority groups, compared with $193,000 for all U.S. firms.  Thirty-five
    percent or 212,928 of these minority-owned businesses had receipts under
    $10,000, while 12,517 of these firms had sales of $1.0 million or more.

         The survey also shows that the 22 percent (136,000 firms) of Asian-,
    Pacific Islander-, American Indian-, and Alaska Native-owned firms with paid
    employees accounted for 81 percent of gross receipts of these minority-owned
    firms.  Of these firms, 705 had 100 or more employees and accounted for
    $17.9 billion in receipts.

         The service industries accounted for 45 percent of the businesses owned
    by Asians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Alaska Natives but only
    26 percent of gross receipts.  The retail trade industry accounted for the
    next largest concentration of these minority-owned firms at 22 percent of the
    firms and 29 percent of the receipts.

         Approximately 83 percent of these firms were sole proprietorships in
    1992.  Partnerships and subchapter S corporations comprised 8 and 9 percent,
    respectively.  (A sole proprietorship is an unincorporated business owned by
    an individual; a partnership is an unincorporated business owned by two or more
    persons; and a subchapter S corporation is an unincorporated business with
    35 or fewer shareholders.)

         Three states--California, New York, and Texas--accounted for 55 percent
    of the firms owned by Asians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Alaska
    Natives.

         Hawaii had the highest percentage of firms owned by members of these
    minority groups at 49 percent;  44 percent of the receipts in the state were
    from these minority-owned businesses.  California ranked second with 10
    percent of all firms and 9 percent of all receipts.  Alaska was third with
    7 percent of all firms and 5 percent of all receipts.

         The report contains information on the number of firms, receipts, number
    of paid employees, and annual payroll.  These data are presented by geographic
    area (the nation, states, and selected metropolitan areas, counties, and
    cities), industry, size of firm, and legal form of organization with comparative
    1992 data for all U.S. firms.

         The data in this report were collected as part of the 1992 Economic
    Census from a large sample of all non-farm businesses filing tax forms as sole
    proprietorships, partnerships, or subchapter S corporations (corporations
    other than subchapter S were excluded), and with receipts of $500 or more in
    1992.  The report does not include C corporations, which are legally
    incorporated businesses with no limits on their number of shareholders.

         The information was collected from a sample survey, and is therefore
    subject to sampling variability as well as reporting and coverage errors.
    Comparisons to 1987 should be done with extreme caution because changes in tax
    laws cause inconsistencies between the 1987 and 1992 data.  Changes in survey
    methodology also may contribute to the differences.

                                                    -X-

    Editor's note:  Selected tables from the report will be available on the
    embargo date on the Internet at: http://www.census.gov/agfs/www/smobe.html

        ASIAN-, PACIFIC ISLANDER-, AMERICAN INDIAN-, AND ALASKA
                   NATIVE-OWNED FIRMS BY GROUP:  1992

           Group                                 1992
                                        Firms        Receipts
                                       (number)    ($1,000,000)
    Total                              705,672        104,100

    Asians and Pacific Islanders       603,439         96,048
         Asian Indian                   93,340         19,284
         Chinese                       153,096         30,189
         Japanese                       68,675         12,597
         Korean                        104,918         16,170
         Vietnamese                     59,674          4,313
         Filipino                       67,625          4,781
         Hawaiian                       11,587          1,058
         Other Asian and Pacific Is.    44,524          7,656

    American Indians and Alaska Natives 102,234         8,053
         American Indian                 95,003         7,415
         Aleut                            2,738           222
         Eskimo                           4,493           416