AUG. 13, 2018 — Women-owned employer firms in the United States increased by approximately 2.8 percent in 2016 to 1,118,863 from 1,088,466 in 2015, according to findings from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2016 Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs.

The data also shows that women owned approximately 20.0 percent (1,118,863) of all employer businesses (5,601,758) nationwide. Additionally, about one-quarter (289,326 or 25.9 percent) of all women-owned employer firms were minority owned. More than half (approximately 153,177 or 52.9 percent) of these minority women-owned firms were Asian -owned.

The Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs provides a demographic portrait of the nation’s employer businesses by gender, ethnicity, race and veteran status. Tables released today provide estimates on the number of firms, receipts, payroll and employment for the nation, the states and the District of Columbia, and the 50 most populous metropolitan statistical areas.

The Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs is being folded into the Annual Business Survey. Announced in June 2018, this new survey will include an innovation content module and replaces the Survey of Business Owners, Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs and Business Research and Development and Innovation Survey for Microbusinesses.

These data are currently available on the Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs web page under "Data" and "ASE Tables".

For more information about the Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs, including survey design, methodology and data limitations, visit www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ase.html.

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