Survey of Business Owners (SBO)

1992 Survey of Business Owners Press Releases

          
             EMBARGOED UNTIL:  JANUARY 29, 1996 AT 12:15 P.M. (MONDAY)

    Public Information Office                         CB96-07
    301-457-3030
    301-457-4067  (TDD)

    Valerie Strang      
    Eddie Salyers       
    301-763-5726        

    Video News Release:
    Monday, January 29, 2-2:30 p.m. EST
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    Tuesday, January 30, 2-2:30 p.m. EST
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                 ONE-THIRD OF NATION'S BUSINESSES OWNED
                      BY WOMEN, CENSUS BUREAU SAYS

         Washington, D.C.--EMBARGOED UNTIL:  JANUARY 29, 1996 AT
    12:15 P.M. (MONDAY) - The number of women-owned businesses in the
    United States reached 6.4 million in 1992, representing
    one-third of all domestic firms and 40 percent of all retail and
    service firms.  Businesses owned by women generated $1.6 trillion
    in business revenues and employed 13.2 million people.  About
    19 percent of these were businesses with paid employees,
    averaging 10.6 employees and $1.2 million in receipts per firm.
    This is according to a report from the Commerce Department's
    Census Bureau entitled, "1992 Women-Owned Businesses" (WB92-1),
    that will be published later this year.

         Secretary of Commerce Ronald H. Brown said, "These findings
    confirm that women-owned businesses are substantial and growing
    contributors to the nation's economy, particularly in terms of
    job creation."

        Nearly 520,000 of the businesses owned by women were "C"
    corporations which were covered in this survey for the first time
    in 1992.  They include all types of corporations except
    subchapter S corporations, and tend to be larger business
    operations.  In 1992, women-owned "C" corporations:

         -  Generated $932 billion in revenues, nearly 60 percent of
            all women-owned business revenues.

         -  Included over 426,000 employer firms, about 82 percent of
            the women-owned "C" corporations, with 7 million
            employees and payrolls of $154 billion.

         Women-owned "C" corporations were active in all major kinds
    of businesses, ranging from 22 percent each in mining and
    manufacturing businesses, to 31 percent in retail trade.

         Of the more than 2 million "C" corporations in the United
    States, women owned nearly 26 percent and their businesses
    contributed nearly 9 percent of all revenues for the year.

         In addition to "C" corporations, women owned 5.9 million
    sole proprietorships, partnerships, and subchapter S corporations
    in 1992.  Subchapter S corporations have no more than
    35 shareholders and are not taxed as corporations.  In 1992,
    these women-owned "non-C" businesses:

         -  Generated nearly $643 billion in revenues, over
            40 percent of the total for all women-owned businesses.

         -  Included some 818,000 employer firms, 14 percent of
            all women-owned "non-C" businesses, with 6.3 million
            employees and payrolls of nearly $105 billion.

         -  Were predominantly retail and service businesses,
            accounting for over 72 percent of women-owned
            unincorporated businesses and subchapter S corporations.

         Previous surveys have covered women-owned unincorporated
    businesses and subchapter S corporations, and in the past
    five years the number of women-owned "non-C" businesses has
    increased 43 percent (up from 4.1 million in 1987).  In addition,
    between 1987 and 1992:

         -  Growth rates for women-owned firms were above average in
            several "nontraditional" business sectors, including
            construction (up over 50 percent) and wholesale trade
            (up over 85 percent).

         -  Receipts for women-owned "non-C" businesses more than
            doubled, from a total of $278 million in 1987.

         -  Firms with 100 or more employees increased nearly
            130 percent, to more than 6,660 businesses in 1992.

         Nationwide, of some 17 million sole proprietorships,
    partnerships and subchapter S corporations in 1992, more than
    one-third were women-owned and their businesses generated more
    than 19 percent of all "non-C" business revenues.  In addition,
    over 40 percent of all U.S. "non-C" retail and service businesses
    were owned by women and showed strong rates of growth since the
    prior five-year survey.  Between 1987 and 1992:

         -  The number of U.S. "non-C" businesses grew by 26 percent,
            while comparable women-owned businesses grew some
            43 percent.

         -  Growth rates for U.S. "non-C" construction and wholesale
            businesses were about one-fourth those of comparable
            women-owned businesses.

         -  Total revenues for all U.S. "non-C" businesses grew by
            67 percent, versus nearly twice that rate (131 percent)
            for women-owned businesses.

         The report provides information on the number of women-owned
    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 proprietors, partnerships, or
    any type of corporations, and with receipts of $500 or more in
    1992.

         Since this was a sample survey, the data are subject to
    sampling variability as well as reporting and coverage errors.
    All comparisons made using only 1992 data are statistically
    significant at the 90 percent confidence level.  However,
    comparisons between 1987 and 1992 should be made with extreme
    caution because changes in tax laws cause inconsistencies between
    the data and changes in survey methods may contribute to
    differences.
                                   -X-

    Editor's Note:  media representatives may obtain reproduced
    excerpts from the forthcoming women-owned businesses report from
    the Census Bureau's Public Information Office on 301-457-3030;
    fax:  301-457-3670; or e-mail:  pio@census.gov.  Other requests
    should go to the bureau's Minority- and Women-Owned Businesses
    Information Staff on 301-763-5726.  A notice will be issued when
    printed copies of the report are available.