Office of Advocacy

U.S. Small Business Administration

Washington, D.C.: 1998

Small Business Growth

by Major Industry,

1988–1995
ii

The full text of this report is available on the Office of Advocacy’s

Internet site at http://www.sba.gov/ADVO/. Reprints in paper or microfiche are available for purchase from the National Technical Information

Service, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161.

Federal Recycling Program

Printed on recycled paper.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Small business growth by major industry, 1988–1995

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p. ).

1. Small business—United States—Statistics. 2. Industrial 

statistics —United States. I. United States. Small Business

Administration.

HD2346.U5S62 1998

338.6’42’0973021 — dc21 98-36846

CIP
iii

Foreword

For many years, as part of its mandate from Congress, the Small

Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy has taken the lead in

investigating the role of small business in the U.S. economy and

examining it with the available statistical tools. With the publication

of this report, I am pleased to present an invaluable new resource for

quantifying the vital economic role played by small businesses in our

nation’s economic life.

With considerable financial support from the Office of Advocacy,

the Bureau of the Census has gathered together a set of statistics that

allow us for the first time to take a detailed look at the dynamics of

business formation and growth over an extended, and relatively

recent, period of time. The analysis of these data by the Office of

Advocacy shows the role played by small firms in the 1988–1995

time period as they were created, as they died off, or as they grew

into large firms. This so-called “churning” is at the heart of the cycle

of change that is continually reallocating our nation’s financial,

human, and material resources. Small business, it should come as no

surprise, is at the vital center of this process.

This report is part of a continuing publication effort by the Office

of Advocacy that is designed to concentrate on the small-business

sector that dominates the U.S. economy. It was made possible by the

cooperation and assistance of the Bureau of the Census, and was prepared by the Office of Advocacy’s Office of Economic Research. For

more information about our research efforts, I invite you to visit our

Internet site at http://www.sba.gov/ADVO/.

Jere W. Glover

Chief Counsel for Advocacy

U.S. Small Business Administration
iv
v

Contents

Foreword iii

Executive Summary vii

Overview 1

Source of the Data 3

Static Changes 6

Employer Firms 6

Establishments 7

Employment 8

Payroll 10

Dynamic Growth 11

Employer Firm Births and Deaths 11

Establishments 12

Employment 13

Appendix A: Tables 15

Appendix B: The Creation of the Statistics

of U.S. Businesses 42
vi

Abbreviations

CBP County Business Patterns

COS Company Organization Survey

IRS Internal Revenue Service

MSA Metropolitan Statistical Area

SSEL Standard Statistical Establishment Unit

SUSB Statistics of U.S. Businesses
vii

Executive Summary

Small Business Growth by Major Industry, 1988–1995 shows how

small businesses account for much of the U.S. economy’s growth, are

responsible for much of the “churning” of the economy, and have

maintained their share of the economy.

Highlights of the report include:

• From 1990 to 1995, small employer firms (those with fewer than

500 employees) accounted for 90.1 percent of the 371,547 net new

establishments, and 76.5 percent of the 6.85 million net new jobs.

• From 1990 to 1995, the service sector was responsible for 58.9

percent of net new establishments, and 84.8 percent of net new jobs.

• The business services and health services industries represented

49.0 percent of service-sector employment in 1990, but accounted

for 63.8 percent of the net new jobs in services from 1990 to 1995.

• Of U.S. employment, 13.3 percent in 1995 was in firms that did

not exist before 1990, while 12.6 percent in 1990 was in firms that

had ceased to exist by 1995.

• From 1990 to 1995, the difference between jobs generated by firm

births and those lost to firm deaths accounted for 21.8 percent of

net new jobs. Expansions less contractions of continuing firms

accounted for 78.2 percent of these net new jobs. Small firms

accounted for 67.7 percent of net new jobs from firm births and

deaths, and 78.9 percent of net new jobs from continuing firms.

• In 1995, small firms averaged about one establishment and 10

employees each, while large firms had an average of more than 50

establishments and more than 3,000 employees each.

• Small businesses represented a steady share of the number of firms

from 1988 to 1995, while their share of employment declined slightly. This led to an increase in average firm size.

• Small businesses became more important employers in the manufacturing and construction sectors and less important in the retail

trade and service sectors.

• Much of the decrease in small firms’ static share of employment in

the services sector was probably caused by some small firms growing

into large firms.

• A decline in employment in large manufacturing firms accounted
viii

for much of the gain in the small-firm share of manufacturing

employment.

This report was prepared by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, under the general supervision of Bruce D.

Phillips, director of its Office of Economic Research. Comments

may be directed to Brian Headd, staff economist and author of the

report, at (202) 205-6593. For additional information, visit the

Office of Advocacy’s Internet site at http://www.sba.gov/ADVO/.
1

Overview

This report presents a summation of the firm-size data compiled by

the Bureau of the Census and funded by the Office of Advocacy

over the last eight years. It focuses on small business growth and its

changing share of the U.S. economy. The data define these changes

by quantifying employer firm births, employer firm deaths, establishment changes, and employment changes by firm size; and small

business’ changing share of the employer firms, establishments,

employment, and payroll.

Two different types of data are used in this report: static and

dynamic. Small business’ static shares of employer firms, establishments (business locations), employment, and payroll show the

changing importance of small businesses over time. Small business’

dynamic growth is measured by using the beginning year employment size of firm to classify firm size, tracking changes in establishments and employment for these firm sizes. Static and dynamic data

differ in their end-year classification of employment size of firm.

Static data reclassify firms as their employment changes over time,

while dynamic data do not reclassify firms by their ending year

employment size of firm, thus capturing growth. (In dynamic data,

firms stay in their firm-size class for analysis regardless of whether

they changed firm-size classes.) To determine which industries are

driving the overall changes, major industries are also analyzed.

Analysis of the data shows that small businesses accounted for

much of the growth in business establishments and employment in

the U.S. economy between 1988 and 1995. From 1990 to 1995,

371,547 net new business locations were created. Small firms represented 90.1 percent, and very small firms (those with fewer than 20

employees) represented 68.4 percent of these net new establishments. By industry, services (excluding the finance, insurance, real

estate and transportation, communications, and public utilities

industries) were responsible for most of this establishment increase

(58.9 percent of the total).

During this same period, 6.85 million net new private-sector jobs

were created. Small firms generated 76.5 percent of these net new

jobs, and very small firms (those with fewer than 20 employees) 

created 49.0 percent. The services sector created much of the overall

growth, with 5.81 million net new jobs (84.8 percent of the total).
2

This report also finds that small businesses are responsible for

much of the “churning,” or turnover, in the U.S. economy. From

1990 to 1995, small businesses were responsible for 99.9 percent of

the employer firm births and deaths. Firms starting after 1990 that

survived until 1995 numbered 1.8 million. Firms existing in 1990

but not surviving until 1995 numbered 1.5 million.1 Overall, from

1989 to 1995, 2.9 million firms were born and 2.6 million firms

died. Only in the recessionary period of 1990 to 1991 did firm

deaths outnumber firm births. Of the 2.3 million firm births from

1990 to 1995, 79.1 percent survived until 1995.2

While small firms were accounting for much of the net new establishments and employment, turbulence in the economy of firm

births, firm deaths, and large firms shrinking into small firms has

held small business’ static share of firms relatively constant from

1988 to 1995. However, their static share of employment and payroll has declined slightly over this period. The decline of the share of

small firms in employment (from 54.6 percent to 52.5 percent) and

payroll (from 48.6 percent to 46.7 percent) might represent small

firms growing into large firms, and it might also indicate an increase

in the barriers to entry (and survival) of new firms. Another possibility is that small firms are switching from labor to capital for production; however, the data in this report do not measure capital (or

assets). Overall in 1995 (the latest available data), small firms represented 99.7 percent of firms, 52.5 percent of employment, 46.7 percent of payroll, and 47.0 percent of estimated receipts.

From 1988 to 1995, the share of small firms within industries has

had slight changes. With regard to employment, small business’ static share in services shows a decrease from 62.4 percent in 1988 to

56.3 percent in 1995, and a similar decrease in retail trade from 56.3

percent to 52.0 percent. Manufacturing’s small firm share of employment increased slightly during the period.

1. A survey from the Bureau of the Census found that the percentage of employer

firms closing while the owner felt the business was unsuccessful was 42.6 percent.

Therefore an estimate of the number of firms in 1990 that closed by 1995 and

were unsuccessful is a little over 600,000. See U.S. Department of Commerce,

Bureau of the Census, Characteristics of Business Owners 1992, pub. no. CBO92-1

(Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1997). (Also available on

the Internet at http://www.census.gov/prod/www/titles.html#ent).

2. The Office of Advocacy plans to fund the Bureau of the Census to calculate

firm births and deaths by major industry.
3

Data for this report were extracted from the Statistics of U.S.

Businesses (SUSB). Since 1990, the Office of Advocacy has contracted with the Bureau of the Census to provide data on private, nonfarm employers by employment size of firm. Because of the time

needed to collect and process these data, there is a delay of about

two years in reporting. Therefore, the latest data cover 1995.3

The data include the number of employer firms, number of establishments, employment, annual payroll and estimated receipts by

location — national, state, or metropolitan statistical area (MSA) —

and industry. The data are available by employment size of firm,

which includes the following employer firm sizes: 0, 1–4, 5–9,

10–19, 20–99, 100–499, and 500 or more employees. (Selfemployed individuals without employees throughout the year are not

counted in these data.)4 When evaluating all industries, the Office of

Advocacy often defines a firm with fewer than 500 employees as

small. This report focuses on the employment size classes of firms

with fewer than 20 employees, firm with fewer than 500 employees,

and firms with 500 or more employees. The report does not analyze

estimated receipts. Receipts are estimated from payroll, and may not

indicate real changes over time.5 Static data are available from 1988

to 1995.

The SUSB produces static and dynamic data. Static data indicates

the importance of firm size classes, and the changing importance of

firm size classes over time.6 Static firm-size data report the number

3. The data are available on the Internet at http://www.sba.gov/ADVO/stats/

int_data.html.

4. The SUSB includes all firms that had payroll during the year, and measures

their March employment. This results in an employment size class of 0 (new firms

and seasonal firms), with annual payroll and no employees. Beginning in 1992,

the SUSB broke out the 0 size class from the 0–4 size class. For 1995, the firm

employment size class 0 represented 12.8 percent of firms, and 1.0 percent of the

annual payroll. To maintain consistency, the static figures include the 0 size class.

5. Estimated receipts in 1995 were $15.8 trillion, of which 47.0 percent was from

small firms ($7.4 trillion). In addition, calculating productivity from the SUSB

would be complicated by the lack of data on work hours, skill levels of the workers, capital intensity of firms, or value added by firms.

6. The following is an example of static firm size data. Suppose that in year one,

there were 200 small firms, representing two-thirds of all firms and 100 large

firms, representing one-third of all firms. In year two, there were 375 small firms,

representing three-fourths of all businesses and 125 large firms, representing onefourth of all businesses. Small firms became more important to the economy, as

they increased their share of all businesses from two-thirds to three-fourths.

However static data do not account for business starts, closures, and changes of

employment size class and therefore cannot measure job creation.

Source of the

Data
of employer firms, number of establishments, employment, annual

payroll, and estimated receipts by employment size of firm. Firms

are defined by their employment size of firm on a yearly basis.

Because firms can change employment size classes from year to year,

static firm size data cannot indicate the performance of employment

size classes (that is, the data cannot measure growth). However, comparisons of static firm-size data over time can illustrate the changing

importance of small and large firms by location (national, state, or

MSA), and/or by industry.

Dynamic data indicate the growth of employment firm size classes

over time.

7 Dynamic data report establishments and employment

classified by beginning-year employment size of firm. They also

report changes in establishments and employment during the period.

A firm is defined by its employment size at the beginning of the

year, and remains in the same category for the end-year (or end-ofperiod) figure.8 Firm births after the beginning year are an exception, and are classified by their ending year firm size. Dynamic data

measure the performance of firm employment size classes in job creation and other measures.9 Dynamic data do not include firms in

the size class of “0,” therefore caution is needed when comparing

beginning year dynamic data to static data. Dynamic data are available as yearly changes from 1989 to 1995, and as a five-year change

from 1990 to 1995.

See Appendix B, “The Creation of the Statistics of Small Businesses,” (page 42) for a description of the process that the Bureau of

the Census uses to calculate the SUSB data. Note that the SUSB

4

7. The following is an example of dynamic firm-size data. In the beginning year,

small firms had 200 establishments, while large firms had 100 establishments.

During the year, 50 new small firms (original establishments) formed, 10 new

large firms formed, 25 original establishments of small firms closed, and 5 original

establishments of large firms closed. By year end, small firms had a net addition of

25 firms and large firms had a net addition of 5 firms. These data track firms over

time and allow for the calculation of job creation figures for small and large firms.

8. Different methods have been used to determine the employment size of a firm

for job creation. The SUSB dynamic data use the beginning year employment size

of a firm. Other researchers, such as John Haltiwanger, director of the Bureau of

the Census’ Center for Economic Studies, have used a firm’s average employment

size over a period of time. This method avoids the often explosive growth of very

young (and often small) firms; and avoids a firm’s employment peaks or valleys,

tending back to their average employment level.

9. The Office of Advocacy has also funded David L. Birch of Cognetics, Inc., to

study job creation.
5

uses the term “employment size of enterprise” and this report uses

the term “employment size of firm” to describe all of a company’s

employment (employment in all states and all industries for the

company).
6

Static Changes

Firms are an aggregation of all establishments owned by a parent

company. The share of firms that are small businesses (fewer than

500 employees) has remained constant over the years. From 1988 to

1995, the share remained at 99.7 percent. For the smaller firm

employment size class of less than 20 employees, the figure has fluctuated slightly, but appears relatively constant over the years (Table

A.1). Because of small firms’ dominance in the number of firms,

very small fluctuations in the share of firms can indicate real

changes. For example, doubling the number of large firms in 1995

would only decrease small firms’ share of firms by 0.3 percent. A

reduction in the share of small firms can indicate an increase in the

barriers to market entry for small firms. 

The number of firms in both small- and large-firm size categories

has increased. For small firms, the figure grew from 4.44 million in

1988 to 4.81 million in 1995 (a small-firm increase of 363,060 net

new firms). Much of the small-firm increase was in service firms,

which had an increase 277,444 net new small firms during the period. In addition, only the recessionary period, 1990–1991, saw a

decrease in the number of small, large, and very small (fewer than 20

employees) firms.

By major industry in 1995, small firms dominated the agricultural

services (including forestry and fishing); construction; transportation, communications, and public utilities; retail; and services industries, with more than 99.5 percent of the firms in each industry.

Small firms were least represented in the mining industry, but still

represented more than 98 percent of the industry’s firms. 

Changes for the period 1988 to 1995 indicate that the combined

industry of agricultural services had the largest percentage increase

— 39.9 percent — in the number of firms. Business services also

had a large increase, rising 29.3 percent. Mining was the only industry (excluding “unclassified”) that saw a reduction in the number of

firms during this period, declining 13.8 percent (Table 1).

In 1995, services and retail trade accounted for 59.8 percent of

small firms (Figure 1). The industry distribution within the small

firm sector changed from 1988 to 1995. Services went from 37.0

percent to 39.3 percent of all small firms, while retail trade went

from 22.1 percent to 20.5 percent of all small firms. Services represent a larger percentage of large firms as well, rising from 50.2 perFigure 1

Source: SBA, Office of Advocacy, from data

provided by the Bureau of the Census.

Distribution of Small Firms by 

Major Industry, 1995

0

20

40

60

80

100

* “Other” includes agricultural services,

mining, transportation, communications, 

public utilities, wholesale trade, finance,

insurance, and real estate.

Services: 39.3%

Other*: 22.3%

Manufacturing: 6.1%

Construction: 11.8%

Retail Trade: 20.5%

Note: “Small firms” are firms with fewer

than 500 employees.

Employer Firms
7

cent to 54.8 percent. In fact, large service firm growth of 2,023 net

new firms drove the overall net increase of 2,620 new large firms

realized in this period.

From 1988 to 1995, the share of small firms within industries has

remained relatively constant. Small firms are becoming slightly more

important in the combined industry of transportation, communications, and public utilities (from 99.11 percent to 99.21 percent of

firms). But small businesses are becoming slightly less important in

mining (from 98.27 percent to 98.14 percent of firms) and services

(from 99.65 percent to 99.60 percent of firms), particularly health

services.

Establishments are business locations with any reported payroll during the year. A decline in the small-business share of establishments

may signal the crowding out of small retailers by national chains,

small retailers growing into national chains, or other factors. From

1988 to 1995, small business’ static share of establishments

decreased from 88.8 percent to 87.7 percent (Table A.2). The

decrease was caused by large firms’ 20.9-percent increase in the

number of establishments, while small firms had a smaller, 8.5-percent increase. Considering that small firms showed a reasonable

increase in the number of establishments, and the robust U.S. economy during this time period, the slight decrease in small firms’ share

Table 1. Change in the Number of Employer Firms by Industry, 1988–1995

Industry Amount Percent

Total, all industries 414,423 8.4

Agricultural services 28,929 36.9

Mining –3,450 –13.8

Construction 57,889 10.1

Manufacturing 9,902 3.1

Transportation, communications,

and public utilities 35,859 20.7

Wholesale trade 37,266 10.1

Retail trade 5,431 0.5

Eating and drinking places 42,707 13.7

Finance, insurance, and real estate 30,941 7.7

Services 279,467 15.2

Business services 69,115 29.3

Health services 26,874 6.7

Unclassified –69,435 –56.7

Note: The aggregation of industries differs from the total because firms can be in more than one industry.

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, from data provided by the Bureau of the Census.

Establishments
8

of establishments is probably not significant.

From 1988 to 1995, 596,354 net new establishments were created, a 9.9-percent increase. All major industries increased in the number of establishments from 1988 to 1995, except mining. Services

had the largest absolute increase — at 308,486 establishments —

and agricultural services had the largest percentage increase, 36.8

percent.

The increase in the number of large-firm establishments of

140,444 from 1988 to 1995 was attributable to growth in the services and retail trade sectors. The increase in the number of smallfirm establishments of 455,910 over this same period was driven by

growth in the services; finance, insurance, and real estate; and construction industries. While the number of small-firm retail trade

establishments decreased overall, a sub-industry — eating and drinking places — showed an increase in the number of small-firm establishments.

The few large firms (comprising some 0.3 percent of all firms)

often have many business locations, while small firms often occupy

just one location. In 1995, establishments per firm was 1.2 for all

firm sizes, 1.0 for very small firms (those with fewer than 20

employees), 1.1 for small firms, and 52.7 for large firms. These figures remained relatively stable from 1988 to 1995. For all major

industries during this period, very small firms and small firms had

about one establishment per firm. In 1995, large firms in retailing

had the most establishments per large firm with 113.7, followed by

finance, insurance, and real estate, with 48.3 (Table A.3). Within the

retail trade sector, the eating and drinking places industry averaged

75.7 establishments per large firm.

From 1988 to 1995, within large firms, the transportation, communication, and public utility sector’s increase of 5.8 establishments

per large firm was the largest absolute increase (from 31.0 to 36.8).

The largest percentage increase was in the construction industry:

27.3 percent (from 5.6 to 7.2 establishments per firm). The retail

trade and finance, insurance, and real estate sectors also had large

absolute increases, of about 5 establishments per large firm. Within

services, health services had a large percentage increase in establishments per large firm (38.3 percent), as did business services (23.2

percent).

From 1988 to 1995, small business’ static share of employment

decreased slightly — from 54.6 percent to 52.5 percent. This may

be the result of small firms growing into large firms. During this

same period, static large-firm employment increased 19.4 percent,

Employment
while static small-firm employment increased 9.9 percent (Table

A.4). Note that static data do not measure job creation, as firms can

change employment-size class from year to year (for job creation, see

the dynamic growth section entitled “Employment” on page 13).

In 1995, small firms dominated the agricultural services and construction industries, with more than 88 percent of employment in

each industry. Small firms were less represented in the more capitalintensive industries of transportation, communications, and public

utilities with 36.3 percent of that industry’s employment in 1995,

followed by manufacturing (38.5 percent) and mining (38.6 percent).

From 1988 to 1995, small business employment decreased in

manufacturing and mining. Small business’ static share of employment in mining remained relatively constant because of similar losses

to both small and large firm categories. By 1995, manufacturing had

589,254 fewer jobs in large firms than 1988, while small firms had

only 34,532 fewer jobs. This caused small firms’ share of employment in manufacturing to increase from 37.4 percent to 38.5 percent. Small firms’ static share of employment in services shows a

sharp decrease from 62.4 percent in 1988 to 56.3 percent in 1995.

However, absolute small firm employment in services increased every

year from 1988 to 1995. Retail trade’s small-firm static share of

employment decreased from 56.3 percent to 52.0 percent, but retail

trade’s absolute small-firm employment did decrease in a few of the

years studied.

Services’ static share of small firm employment increased from

32.9 percent in 1988 to 37.1 percent in 1995. Only manufacturing

and retail trade had noticeable declines in small-firm employment

(from 15.0 percent to 13.6 percent and from 22.2 percent to 20.8

percent, respectively). In 1995, services, retail trade, and manufacturing represented 71.6 percent of all small business employment

(Figure 2).

Also in 1995, the average employment per firm was 18.7 for all

firm sizes, 4.1 for very small firms (fewer than 20 employees), 9.8

for small firms, and 3,086.1 for large firms. For all firm sizes, average employment per firm rose from 17.7 in 1988 to 18.7 in 1995.

In 1995, employment per small firm was lowest for agricultural services (5.2), followed by construction (7.2). Employment per large

firm was highest for retail trade (3,438.2), followed by manufacturing (2,328.5). Overall, manufacturing had the highest employment

per firm, with an average of 56.3. 

9

Figure 2

Source: SBA, Office of Advocacy, from data

provided by the Bureau of the Census.

Distribution of Small Firm

Employment by Major Industry, 

1995

0

20

40

60

80

100

* “Other” includes agricultural services,

mining, transportation, communications, 

public utilities, wholesale trade, finance,

insurance, and real estate.

Services: 37.1%

Other*: 19.9%

Manufacturing: 13.6%

Construction: 8.5%

Retail Trade: 20.8%

Note: “Small firms” are firms with fewer 

than 500 employees.
10

Not surprisingly, small firms’ static share of payroll has followed the

small-firm static share of employment, and decreased slightly. Small

firms represented 48.6 percent of private-sector payroll in 1988, and

47.0 percent in 1995. Most of the decrease occurred from 1988 to

1992. In fact, the figure has remained relatively stable from 1992 to

1995. For very small firms (fewer than 20 employees), the payroll

share has declined every year from 1988 to 1995 (17 percent in

1995).

By major industry, small-firm payroll dominated the agricultural

services and construction industries, accounting for more than 85

percent of each industry’s payroll in 1995. Also in 1995, small firms

had the lowest share payroll in the transportation, communications,

and public utilities industry, with only 26.6 percent.

Small firms’ share of payroll in the agricultural services industry

rose from 82.9 percent in 1988 to 87.0 percent in 1995. However,

over the same period, small firms’ payroll share in retail trade went

from 56.8 percent to 51.5 percent, and in services from 61.4 percent

to 54.8 percent. The service industry’s share decrease was driven by

declines in both business services (from 55.8 percent to 48.8 percent) and health services (from 52.5 percent to 43.7 percent).

Payroll
11

Dynamic Growth

Firm births and deaths are part of the cycle of change that reallocates

the economy’s finance, employment, and material resources. Firms

are often born and survive by applying new ideas and new vigor,

replacing outmoded firms. These start-up firms may need to grow to

reach an optimal size to take advantage of scale economies. Small

firms are the driving force behind this cycle.

Most firms start small and never grow to become large firms (or

shrink before they die). From 1994 to 1995, small firms (fewer than

500 employees) represented more than 99.9 percent of the new

firms and more than 99.9 percent of the firm deaths. Very small

firms (fewer than 20 employees) represented 95.7 percent of the firm

births and 95.0 percent of the firm deaths. These figures reflect small

firms’ strong presence in the turbulence that recharges the economy.

The SUSB dynamic data provide two different lengths of time for

study, 1990–1995, and yearly changes from 1989 to 1995. The

1990 to 1995 period tracks firms and allows a long time span for

comparisons of two snapshots of the U.S. economy, but misses what

occurs in the middle, such as the firm births after 1990 that died by

1995. The 1989 to 1995 yearly changes allow for comparisons of

different years. (Note that longer periods show huge small-firm

growth since most firms start small.)

From 1990 to 1995, 1.8 million firms were born and survived

until 1995, while 1.5 million firms existing in 1990 died by 1995.

This resulted in 250,412 net new firms. New firms surviving until

1995 were responsible for 13.30 million jobs, while firms existing in

1990 that died by 1995 resulted in 11.81 million job losses. This

revolving door created 1.50 million net new jobs (21.8 percent of

the total), with continuing firms accounting for the remaining 5.36

million net new jobs (78.2 percent). Overall, 13.3 percent of the

employment in 1995 was in firms that did not exist in 1990.

From 1989 to 1995, firm births averaged around 560,000 a year,

and firm deaths averaged around 510,000 a year (Figure 3). Only in

1990 to 1991, a recessionary period, did firm deaths outnumber

firm births. In most years, large firm deaths outnumbered large firm

births. This is most likely a result of few firms starting large, while

some of the large firm deaths began as small firm births.

From 1994 to 1995, 594,369 firms were born and 497,246 firms

Employer Firm

Births and Deaths

Figure 3

Source: SBA, Office of Advocacy, from data

provided by the Bureau of the Census.

Firm Births and Deaths,

1989–1995

Firm Deaths

Firm Births

Thousands

600

500

400

89–90 94–95
12

died. Also in the 1994 to 1995 period, using the static data’s 1994

number of firms as the base (excluding firms with 0 employees), the

birth rate was 13.0 percent and the death rate was 10.8 percent.

Small firms from 1994 to 1995 were responsible for 91.8 percent of

the jobs from firm creation, and 93.3 percent of job losses due to

firm deaths. Very small firms were responsible for 55.3 percent of

the new firm jobs, and 53.7 percent of the firm death job losses. Of

the employment growth in continuing firms, small firms accounted

for 71.1 percent, and very small firms accounted for 43.9 percent.

For all employment size classes, continuing firms accounted for most

of the net new jobs (Figure 4).

An increase in net new establishments (or business locations) has

expanded the economy into new areas and revitalized existing areas.

Most of the net new establishments are a consequence of firm births

minus deaths, which the previous section showed were dominated by

small firms. Continuing firms accounted for the remaining number

of net new establishments. From 1994 to 1995, firm births minus

deaths accounted for 89.7 percent of the net new establishments,

and from 1990 to 1995 this figure was 67.4 percent (continuing

firms account for the balance).

From 1990 to 1995, 371,547 net new establishments were created

in the U.S. economy. In addition, the number of establishments

increased every year from 1990 to 1995. Small firms represented

90.1 percent of this creation, and very small firms (fewer than 20

employees) represented 68.4 percent (Figure 5). Small firms’ dominance in establishment creation is not surprising considering that

from 1990 to 1995, small firms owned about 88 percent of establishments and very small firms owned about 74 percent of total

establishments.

Also from 1990 to 1995, the service industry created most of the

Establishments

Figure 4

Source: SBA, Office of Advocacy, from data

provided by the Bureau of the Census.

Employment Change from

Continuing Firms and Firm

Turnover, 1994–1995

All

Firms

< 20

employees

< 500

employees

500 +

employees

3,092

1,358

2,197

895

320

416

84

499

Thousands

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000

Continuing

Firms

Firm

Turnover*

* “Firm turnover” = new jobs created by new

firms, less job losses due to firm deaths.
13

establishment increase, with 218,994 net new establishments (58.9

percent of the total), followed by the finance, insurance and real

estate industry’s increase of 59,088 (15.9 percent of the total). Only

mining declined (a loss of 3,060 net establishments).

Small-firm establishment changes from 1990 to 1995 dominated

agricultural services, construction, and services, representing more

than 90 percent of the total establishment changes. Only in retail

trade did large firms create more establishments than small firms;

however small firms represented 94.7 percent of the increase in a

sub-industry, eating and drinking places. Small-firm establishment

gains in manufacturing and wholesale trade masked large-firm establishment losses.

The number of establishments increased every year from 1989 to

1995, even during the recessionary period of 1990 to 1991. The

number of establishments created by small firms also increased every

year; however, large firms had a decline in establishments from 1992

to 1993 and from 1991 to 1992. 

The largest change was from 1994 to 1995, which saw 108,320

net new establishments. Very small firms (those with fewer than 20

employees) were responsible for 90,440 of the net new establishments (83.5 percent of the total) in that period. Services accounted

for 41.8 percent of the total net new establishments.

Most of the labor force is taking part in the economy’s recent expansion, as shown by employment increases and lowered unemployment

rates. From 1990 to 1995, 6.85 million net new jobs were created in

the U.S. economy. Small firms created 76.5 percent, and very small

firms (fewer than 20 employees), 49.0 percent (Figure 6). In addition to favorable economic conditions in this time period, this job

growth may be a result of small firms growing in employment to

reach efficient scale economies.

Services accounted for much of the overall growth, with 5.81 million net new jobs (Table 2). Of these new jobs, 2.05 million were in

health services and 1.66 million were in business services. Retail

trade also posted healthy gains, with 1.35 million net new jobs,

largely driven by eating and drinking places (670,343 net new jobs).

Manufacturing had substantial losses (690,522 net lost jobs). Also

recording losses were construction (194,897 net lost jobs) and mining (73,480 net lost jobs).

From 1990 to 1995, 62.2 percent of the net new service jobs were

from small firms. In retail trade, 64.3 percent of the net new jobs

came from large firms and, in the aggregate, all of those in small

retail firms came from eating and drinking places. The large gain of

Employment

Figure 5

Source: SBA, Office of Advocacy, from data

provided by the Bureau of the Census.

Share of Growth in the Number

of Establishments, by Employment

Size of Firm, 1990–1995

Fewer than

20 employees:

68.4%

20 to 499

employees:

21.7%

500 or more employees:

9.9%
14

375,710 jobs posted by small manufacturing firms helped offset the

loss of 1.07 million jobs among large manufacturing firms. Smallfirm gains in the transportation, communications, and public utilities industry and the finance, insurance, and real estate industry also

helped offset large-firm losses.

During the recessionary period from 1990 to 1991, the U.S.

economy lost 1.16 million jobs, driven by manufacturing losses of

817,880 jobs, and construction losses of 589,125 jobs. During this

same period, services gained 657,746 jobs, of which 391,838 were in

health services. The yearly increase from 1994 to 1995 was the

largest job increase (3.59 million jobs) during the five-year period,

with only the finance, insurance, and real estate industry losing jobs.

Services accounted for much of this growth. Manufacturing has been

up and down, but the trend now appears positive, as that sector created 498,515 jobs from 1994 to 1995 (78.7 percent of which was in

small firms). Services recorded increases in every year, and business

services appears to be supplanting health services as the job-creating

force in the aggregated industry of services, creating over 400,000

more jobs than health services from 1993 to 1995.

Table 2. Net New Jobs by Industry, 1990–1995

Number of Net New Jobs

All Small Firms Large Firms

Industry Firms ( < 500 employees) ( 500+ employees)

Total, all industries 6,853,784 5,241,479 1,612,305

Services 5,809,614 3,615,704 2,193,910

Retail trade 1,353,120 482,667 870,453

Manufacturing –690,522 375,710 –1,066,232

Other industries 381,572 767,398 –385,826

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, from data provided by the Bureau of the Census.

Figure 6

Source: SBA, Office of Advocacy, from data

provided by the Bureau of the Census.

Share of Net New Jobs, by 

Employment Size of Firm, 

1990–1995

Fewer than

20 employees:

 49.0%

20 to 499

employees:

27.5%

500 or more

employees:

23.5%
Appendix A: Tables

Table A-1: Employer Firms by Major Industry and Firm

Size, 1988–1995 16

Table A-2: Establishments by Major Industry and Firm

Size, 1988–1995 19

Table A-3: Establishments per Firm by Major Industry and

Firm Size, 1988–1995 22

Table A-4: Employment by Major Industry and Firm Size,

1988–1995 25

Table A-5: Employment per Firm by Major Industry and 

Firm Size, 1988–1995 28

Table A-6: Annual Payroll by Major Industry and Firm Size,

1988–1995 31

Table A-7: Employer Firm Births and Deaths by Employment 

Size of Firm, 1990–1995 34

Table A-8: Dynamic Establishment Changes by Major Industry 

and Firm Size, 1989–1995 36

Table A-9: Dynamic Employment Changes by Major Industry 

and Firm Size, 1989–1995 39

15
Table A.1: Employer Firms by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1988 — 1995

Firms Percent of Total Percent of Size

Employment Size of Firm (a) Industry Firms Class by Industry

Industry Year Total 0-19 <500 500+ 0-19 <500 0-19 <500

All Industries (d) 1995 5,369,068 4,807,533 5,353,624 15,444 89.54 99.71 100.00 100.00

1994 5,276,964 4,736,317 5,261,967 14,997 89.75 99.72 100.00 100.00

1993 5,193,642 4,661,601 5,179,013 14,629 89.76 99.72 100.00 100.00

1992 5,095,356 4,572,994 5,081,234 14,122 89.75 99.72 100.00 100.00

1991 5,051,025 4,528,899 5,037,048 13,977 89.66 99.72 100.00 100.00

1990 5,073,795 4,535,575 5,059,772 14,023 89.39 99.72 100.00 100.00

1989 5,021,315 4,493,875 5,007,442 13,873 89.50 99.72 100.00 100.00

1988 4,954,645 4,444,473 4,941,821 12,824 89.70 99.74 100.00 100.00

Agricultural Services, 1995 107,253 102,382 107,116 137 95.46 99.87 2.13 2.00

Forestry, and Fishing 1994 103,114 98,741 102,989 125 95.76 99.88 2.08 1.96

1993 99,397 94,593 99,269 128 95.17 99.87 2.03 1.92

1992 96,211 91,553 96,081 130 95.16 99.86 2.00 1.89

1991 91,743 87,447 91,613 130 95.32 99.86 1.93 1.82

1990 87,939 83,692 87,809 130 95.17 99.85 1.85 1.74

1989 83,431 79,503 83,309 122 95.29 99.85 1.77 1.66

1988 78,324 74,773 78,204 120 95.47 99.85 1.68 1.58

Mining 1995 21,585 18,178 21,183 402 84.22 98.14 0.38 0.40

1994 22,234 18,750 21,821 413 84.33 98.14 0.40 0.41

1993 22,486 19,002 22,071 415 84.51 98.15 0.41 0.43

1992 22,953 19,361 22,544 409 84.35 98.22 0.42 0.44

1991 24,285 20,238 23,869 416 83.34 98.29 0.45 0.47

1990 24,309 20,233 23,877 432 83.23 98.22 0.45 0.47

1989 24,365 20,307 23,933 432 83.34 98.23 0.45 0.48

1988 25,035 20,819 24,603 432 83.16 98.27 0.47 0.50

Construction 1995 630,206 581,785 629,543 663 92.32 99.89 12.10 11.76

1994 615,537 571,142 614,905 632 92.79 99.90 12.06 11.69

1993 594,187 551,596 593,541 646 92.83 99.89 11.83 11.46

1992 584,453 542,500 583,810 643 92.82 99.89 11.86 11.49

1991 582,344 538,793 581,651 693 92.52 99.88 11.90 11.55

1990 597,272 546,593 596,508 764 91.51 99.87 12.05 11.79

1989 589,025 539,279 588,229 796 91.55 99.86 12.00 11.75

1988 572,317 524,054 571,537 780 91.57 99.86 11.79 11.57

Manufacturing 1995 330,310 242,338 325,394 4,916 73.37 98.51 5.04 6.08

1994 327,805 242,219 323,064 4,741 73.89 98.55 5.11 6.14

1993 328,167 242,465 323,502 4,665 73.88 98.58 5.20 6.25

1992 328,201 242,654 323,621 4,580 73.93 98.60 5.31 6.37

1991 322,018 236,939 317,451 4,567 73.58 98.58 5.23 6.30

1990 327,036 238,171 322,342 4,694 72.83 98.56 5.25 6.37

1989 324,139 234,200 319,361 4,778 72.25 98.53 5.21 6.38

1988 320,408 231,352 315,746 4,662 72.21 98.54 5.21 6.39

Transportation, 1995 208,967 182,667 207,312 1,655 87.41 99.21 3.80 3.87

Communications, 1994 200,937 175,471 199,297 1,640 87.33 99.18 3.70 3.79

and Public Utilities 1993 193,203 168,210 191,581 1,622 87.06 99.16 3.61 3.70

1992 184,889 160,443 183,284 1,605 86.78 99.13 3.51 3.61

1991 181,524 157,422 179,939 1,585 86.72 99.13 3.48 3.57

1990 180,900 155,872 179,280 1,620 86.16 99.10 3.44 3.54

1989 178,280 153,849 176,714 1,566 86.30 99.12 3.42 3.53

1988 173,108 149,415 171,569 1,539 86.31 99.11 3.36 3.47

16
Table A.1: Employer Firms by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1988 — 1995

Firms Percent of Total Percent of Size

Employment Size of Firm (a) Industry Firms Class by Industry

Industry Year Total 0-19 <500 500+ 0-19 <500 0-19 <500

Wholesale Trade 1995 405,435 345,929 402,099 3,336 85.32 99.18 7.20 7.51

1994 400,375 342,369 397,088 3,287 85.51 99.18 7.23 7.55

1993 397,233 340,062 394,022 3,211 85.61 99.19 7.29 7.61

1992 380,328 325,446 377,220 3,108 85.57 99.18 7.12 7.42

1991 377,669 321,445 374,557 3,112 85.11 99.18 7.10 7.44

1990 374,283 316,217 371,073 3,210 84.49 99.14 6.97 7.33

1989 370,674 312,937 367,469 3,205 84.42 99.14 6.96 7.34

1988 368,169 311,646 365,011 3,158 84.65 99.14 7.01 7.39

Retail Trade 1995 1,099,619 967,681 1,096,675 2,944 88.00 99.73 20.13 20.48

1994 1,093,640 965,350 1,090,757 2,883 88.27 99.74 20.38 20.73

1993 1,090,076 963,573 1,087,260 2,816 88.40 99.74 20.67 20.99

1992 1,089,071 962,104 1,086,190 2,881 88.34 99.74 21.04 21.38

1991 1,104,036 977,754 1,101,240 2,796 88.56 99.75 21.59 21.86

1990 1,109,703 979,712 1,106,842 2,861 88.29 99.74 21.60 21.88

1989 1,104,567 975,623 1,101,754 2,813 88.33 99.75 21.71 22.00

1988 1,094,188 968,028 1,091,451 2,737 88.47 99.75 21.78 22.09

Eating and Drinking 1995 354,188 287,654 353,209 979 81.22 99.72 5.98 6.60

Places (b) 1994 348,364 284,066 347,413 951 81.54 99.73 6.00 6.60

1993 343,473 280,246 342,593 880 81.59 99.74 6.01 6.62

1992 330,961 269,529 330,073 888 81.44 99.73 5.89 6.50

1991 328,310 268,394 327,427 883 81.75 99.73 5.93 6.50

1990 325,194 264,774 324,279 915 81.42 99.72 5.84 6.41

1989 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. -- -- -- --

1988 311,481 254,272 310,639 842 81.63 99.73 5.72 6.29

Finance, Insurance, 1995 433,790 400,691 430,802 2,988 92.37 99.31 8.33 8.05

and Real Estate 1994 426,951 393,482 423,972 2,979 92.16 99.30 8.31 8.06

1993 426,778 392,925 423,756 3,022 92.07 99.29 8.43 8.18

1992 411,466 377,856 408,393 3,073 91.83 99.25 8.26 8.04

1991 409,863 376,886 406,949 2,914 91.95 99.29 8.32 8.08

1990 419,963 385,576 417,202 2,761 91.81 99.34 8.50 8.25

1989 409,605 375,644 406,852 2,753 91.71 99.33 8.36 8.12

1988 402,849 369,488 400,206 2,643 91.72 99.34 8.31 8.10

Services 1995 2,114,127 1,918,185 2,105,662 8,465 90.73 99.60 39.90 39.33

1994 2,074,177 1,885,308 2,065,824 8,353 90.89 99.60 39.81 39.26

1993 2,030,895 1,845,796 2,022,735 8,160 90.89 99.60 39.60 39.06

1992 1,963,563 1,784,923 1,955,841 7,722 90.90 99.61 39.03 38.49

1991 1,962,388 1,788,144 1,954,957 7,431 91.12 99.62 39.48 38.81

1990 1,921,767 1,750,283 1,914,429 7,338 91.08 99.62 38.59 37.84

1989 1,872,348 1,708,882 1,865,186 7,162 91.27 99.62 38.03 37.25

1988 1,834,660 1,679,925 1,828,218 6,442 91.57 99.65 37.80 36.99

Business Services (c) 1995 304,677 268,168 302,079 2,598 88.02 99.15 5.58 5.64

1994 294,457 259,426 291,939 2,518 88.10 99.14 5.48 5.55

1993 278,910 244,697 276,516 2,394 87.73 99.14 5.25 5.34

1992 264,458 231,744 262,237 2,221 87.63 99.16 5.07 5.16

1991 279,862 247,232 277,750 2,112 88.34 99.25 5.46 5.51

1990 268,890 236,540 266,731 2,159 87.97 99.20 5.22 5.27

1989 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. -- -- -- --

1988 235,562 206,803 233,560 2,002 87.79 99.15 4.65 4.73

Health Services (c) 1995 425,349 387,760 422,267 3,082 91.16 99.28 8.07 7.89

17
Table A.1: Employer Firms by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1988 — 1995

Firms Percent of Total Percent of Size

Employment Size of Firm (a) Industry Firms Class by Industry

Industry Year Total 0-19 <500 500+ 0-19 <500 0-19 <500

1994 425,281 388,842 422,129 3,152 91.43 99.26 8.21 8.02

1993 424,346 388,379 421,177 3,169 91.52 99.25 8.33 8.13

1992 419,178 385,106 416,232 2,946 91.87 99.30 8.42 8.19

1991 417,106 384,814 414,292 2,814 92.26 99.33 8.50 8.22

1990 410,409 379,374 407,667 2,742 92.44 99.33 8.36 8.06

1989 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. -- -- -- --

1988 398,475 371,502 396,285 2,190 93.23 99.45 8.36 8.02

Unclassified 1995 52,981 52,521 52,977 4 99.13 99.99 1.09 0.99

1994 48,989 48,668 48,989 0 99.34 100.00 1.03 0.93

1993 49,070 48,844 49,070 0 99.54 100.00 1.05 0.95

1992 71,361 71,102 71,361 0 99.64 100.00 1.55 1.40

1991 29,027 28,735 29,027 0 98.99 100.00 0.63 0.58

1990 64,767 63,874 64,721 46 98.62 99.93 1.41 1.28

1989 100,436 98,763 100,382 54 98.33 99.95 2.20 2.00

1988 122,416 120,359 122,350 66 98.32 99.95 2.71 2.48

N.A. = Not available

Note: Employment is measured in March, thus leading to firms with zero employment and some annual payroll.

(a) Firms are an aggregation of all establishments owned by a parent company.

(b) "Eating and drinking places" is included in the retail trade industry.

(c) "Business services" and "health services" are included in the services industry.

(d) The aggregation of all industries is greater than the total because firms can be in more than one industry.

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, based on data provided by the U.S. Department of

Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

18
Table A.2: Establishments by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1988 — 1995

Establishments Percent of Total Percent of Size

Employment Size of Firm (a) Industry Estab. Class by Industry

Industry Year Total 0-19 <500 500+ 0-19 <500 0-19 <500

All Industries 1995 6,612,721 4,799,047 5,798,936 813,785 72.57 87.69 100.00 100.00

1994 6,509,065 4,819,039 5,724,681 784,384 74.04 87.95 100.00 100.00

1993 6,401,233 4,737,660 5,654,835 746,398 74.01 88.34 100.00 100.00

1992 6,319,300 4,656,110 5,571,896 747,404 73.68 88.17 100.00 100.00

1991 6,200,859 4,616,497 5,457,366 743,493 74.45 88.01 100.00 100.00

1990 6,175,559 4,596,135 5,447,605 727,954 74.42 88.21 100.00 100.00

1989 6,106,922 4,569,885 5,402,086 704,836 74.83 88.46 100.00 100.00

1988 6,016,367 4,526,307 5,343,026 673,341 75.23 88.81 100.00 100.00

Agricultural Services, 1995 108,666 102,445 107,506 1,160 94.28 98.93 2.13 1.85

Forestry, and Fishing 1994 104,495 98,808 103,393 1,102 94.56 98.95 2.05 1.81

1993 100,685 94,654 99,721 964 94.01 99.04 2.00 1.76

1992 97,548 91,606 96,499 1,049 93.91 98.92 1.97 1.73

1991 93,050 87,506 92,048 1,002 94.04 98.92 1.90 1.69

1990 89,206 83,741 88,184 1,022 93.87 98.85 1.82 1.62

1989 84,676 79,574 83,716 960 93.97 98.87 1.74 1.55

1988 79,540 74,846 78,571 969 94.10 98.78 1.65 1.47

Mining 1995 27,406 18,340 22,790 4,616 66.92 83.16 0.38 0.39

1994 28,348 18,946 23,505 4,843 66.83 82.92 0.39 0.41

1993 28,570 19,188 23,814 4,756 67.16 83.35 0.41 0.42

1992 29,224 19,562 24,405 4,819 66.94 83.51 0.42 0.44

1991 30,863 20,514 25,766 5,097 66.47 83.49 0.44 0.47

1990 30,943 20,511 25,841 5,102 66.29 83.51 0.45 0.47

1989 31,079 20,588 26,027 5,052 66.24 83.74 0.45 0.48

1988 31,881 21,105 26,679 5,202 66.20 83.68 0.47 0.50

Construction 1995 636,580 582,009 631,839 4,741 91.43 99.26 12.13 10.90

1994 621,771 571,375 617,384 4,387 91.89 99.29 11.86 10.78

1993 600,299 551,853 596,140 4,159 91.93 99.31 11.65 10.54

1992 590,627 542,732 586,500 4,127 91.89 99.30 11.66 10.53

1991 588,544 539,099 584,172 4,372 91.60 99.26 11.68 10.70

1990 603,534 546,875 599,062 4,472 90.61 99.26 11.90 11.00

1989 595,337 539,579 590,992 4,345 90.63 99.27 11.81 10.94

1988 578,825 524,356 574,444 4,381 90.59 99.24 11.58 10.75

Manufacturing 1995 390,435 242,804 341,830 48,605 62.19 87.55 5.06 5.89

1994 387,240 242,689 340,023 47,217 62.67 87.81 5.04 5.94

1993 387,337 242,992 340,732 46,605 62.73 87.97 5.13 6.03

1992 387,616 243,127 341,193 46,423 62.72 88.02 5.22 6.12

1991 381,514 237,334 333,906 47,608 62.21 87.52 5.14 6.12

1990 385,933 238,551 338,567 47,366 61.81 87.73 5.19 6.21

1989 382,619 234,630 335,419 47,200 61.32 87.66 5.13 6.21

1988 378,171 231,848 332,151 46,020 61.31 87.83 5.12 6.22

Transportation, 1995 285,654 184,846 224,777 60,877 64.71 78.69 3.85 3.88

Communications, 1994 276,606 177,709 217,732 58,874 64.25 78.72 3.69 3.80

and Public Utilities 1993 267,175 170,535 210,482 56,693 63.83 78.78 3.60 3.72

1992 259,176 163,002 203,604 55,572 62.89 78.56 3.50 3.65

1991 249,984 159,508 195,624 54,360 63.81 78.25 3.46 3.58

1990 242,241 157,416 191,346 50,895 64.98 78.99 3.42 3.51

1989 239,409 155,405 188,785 50,624 64.91 78.85 3.40 3.49

1988 231,638 151,022 183,958 47,680 65.20 79.42 3.34 3.44

19
Table A.2: Establishments by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1988 — 1995

Establishments Percent of Total Percent of Size

Employment Size of Firm (a) Industry Estab. Class by Industry

Industry Year Total 0-19 <500 500+ 0-19 <500 0-19 <500

Wholesale Trade 1995 518,432 353,206 452,506 65,926 68.13 87.28 7.36 7.80

1994 513,093 350,393 449,681 63,412 68.29 87.64 7.27 7.86

1993 509,604 348,762 447,472 62,132 68.44 87.81 7.36 7.91

1992 493,298 334,391 431,826 61,472 67.79 87.54 7.18 7.75

1991 487,757 329,691 423,329 64,428 67.59 86.79 7.14 7.76

1990 484,619 324,464 420,492 64,127 66.95 86.77 7.06 7.72

1989 480,117 321,600 417,892 62,225 66.98 87.04 7.04 7.74

1988 476,843 320,842 416,350 60,493 67.28 87.31 7.09 7.79

Retail Trade 1995 1,571,073 990,360 1,236,379 334,694 63.04 78.70 20.64 21.32

1994 1,565,544 989,241 1,235,874 329,670 63.19 78.94 20.53 21.59

1993 1,554,437 988,191 1,238,617 315,820 63.57 79.68 20.86 21.90

1992 1,567,940 989,705 1,245,820 322,120 63.12 79.46 21.26 22.36

1991 1,569,659 1,007,149 1,248,959 320,700 64.16 79.57 21.82 22.89

1990 1,574,905 1,008,760 1,255,094 319,811 64.05 79.69 21.95 23.04

1989 1,562,200 1,004,963 1,253,206 308,994 64.33 80.22 21.99 23.20

1988 1,541,796 997,834 1,245,070 296,726 64.72 80.75 22.05 23.30

Eating and Drinking 1995 462,122 290,242 387,993 74,129 62.81 83.96 6.05 6.69

Places (b) 1994 454,086 286,896 382,832 71,254 63.18 84.31 5.95 6.69

1993 446,618 282,805 379,242 67,376 63.32 84.91 5.97 6.71

1992 436,318 272,163 367,300 69,018 62.38 84.18 5.85 6.59

1991 428,016 270,763 357,936 70,080 63.26 83.63 5.87 6.56

1990 424,242 267,294 354,962 69,280 63.01 83.67 5.82 6.52

1989 416,440 262,421 348,455 67,985 63.02 83.67 5.74 6.45

1988 405,807 256,668 341,204 64,603 63.25 84.08 5.67 6.39

Finance, Insurance, 1995 629,479 408,589 485,125 144,354 64.91 77.07 8.51 8.37

and Real Estate 1994 617,745 401,756 479,688 138,057 65.04 77.65 8.34 8.38

1993 609,492 401,771 481,787 127,705 65.92 79.05 8.48 8.52

1992 598,166 387,326 469,149 129,017 64.75 78.43 8.32 8.42

1991 585,436 384,583 458,295 127,141 65.69 78.28 8.33 8.40

1990 563,761 386,633 440,138 123,623 68.58 78.07 8.41 8.08

1989 548,697 377,136 429,610 119,087 68.73 78.30 8.25 7.95

1988 537,672 371,094 422,953 114,719 69.02 78.66 8.20 7.92

Services 1995 2,392,015 1,941,207 2,243,207 148,808 81.15 93.78 40.45 38.68

1994 2,345,234 1,909,990 2,208,412 136,822 81.44 94.17 39.63 38.58

1993 2,294,559 1,870,988 2,166,995 127,564 81.54 94.44 39.49 38.32

1992 2,224,339 1,810,911 2,101,534 122,805 81.41 94.48 38.89 37.72

1991 2,185,025 1,809,404 2,066,240 118,785 82.81 94.56 39.19 37.86

1990 2,135,627 1,771,537 2,024,160 111,467 82.95 94.78 38.54 37.16

1989 2,081,122 1,731,018 1,975,360 105,762 83.18 94.92 37.88 36.57

1988 2,036,748 1,703,401 1,940,081 96,667 83.63 95.25 37.63 36.31

Business Services (c) 1995 356,436 270,355 317,792 38,644 75.85 89.16 5.63 5.48

1994 343,366 261,798 308,515 34,851 76.24 89.85 5.43 5.39

1993 325,954 247,147 293,797 32,157 75.82 90.13 5.22 5.20

1992 311,290 234,278 279,808 31,482 75.26 89.89 5.03 5.02

1991 321,507 249,235 290,943 30,564 77.52 90.49 5.40 5.33

1990 308,188 238,515 280,084 28,104 77.39 90.88 5.19 5.14

1989 291,730 225,058 265,405 26,325 77.15 90.98 4.92 4.91

1988 271,844 209,039 247,668 24,176 76.90 91.11 4.62 4.64

20
Table A.2: Establishments by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1988 — 1995

Establishments Percent of Total Percent of Size

Employment Size of Firm (a) Industry Estab. Class by Industry

Industry Year Total 0-19 <500 500+ 0-19 <500 0-19 <500

Health Services (c) 1995 481,220 394,573 448,834 32,386 81.99 93.27 8.22 7.74

1994 478,425 396,243 449,742 28,683 82.82 94.00 8.22 7.86

1993 474,109 396,016 448,875 25,234 83.53 94.68 8.36 7.94

1992 467,154 392,709 444,087 23,067 84.06 95.06 8.43 7.97

1991 454,222 390,463 433,260 20,962 85.96 95.39 8.46 7.94

1990 445,894 385,168 426,334 19,560 86.38 95.61 8.38 7.83

1989 439,000 381,097 420,562 18,438 86.81 95.80 8.34 7.79

1988 432,198 378,045 415,558 16,640 87.47 96.15 8.35 7.78

Unclassified 1995 52,981 52,521 52,977 4 99.13 99.99 1.09 0.91

1994 48,989 48,668 48,989 0 99.34 100.00 1.01 0.86

1993 49,075 48,844 49,075 0 99.53 100.00 1.03 0.87

1992 71,366 71,102 71,366 0 99.63 100.00 1.53 1.28

1991 29,027 28,735 29,027 0 98.99 100.00 0.62 0.53

1990 64,790 63,874 64,721 69 98.59 99.89 1.39 1.19

1989 101,666 98,764 101,079 587 97.15 99.42 2.16 1.87

1988 123,253 120,359 122,769 484 97.65 99.61 2.66 2.30

Note: Employment is measured in March, thus leading to firms with zero employment and some annual payroll.

(a) Firms are an aggregation of all establishments owned by a parent company.

(b) "Eating and drinking places" is included in the retail trade industry.

(c) "Business services" and "health services" are included in the services industry.

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, based on data provided by the U.S. Department of

Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

21
Table A.3: Establishments per Firm by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1988 — 1995

Establishments per Firm

Employment Size of Firm (a)

Industry Year Total 0-19 <500 500+

All Industries 1995 1.2 1.0 1.1 52.7

1994 1.2 1.0 1.1 52.3

1993 1.2 1.0 1.1 51.0

1992 1.2 1.0 1.1 52.9

1991 1.2 1.0 1.1 53.2

1990 1.2 1.0 1.1 51.9

1989 1.2 1.0 1.1 50.8

1988 1.2 1.0 1.1 52.5

Agricultural Services, 1995 1.0 1.0 1.0 8.5

Forestry, and Fishing 1994 1.0 1.0 1.0 8.8

1993 1.0 1.0 1.0 7.5

1992 1.0 1.0 1.0 8.1

1991 1.0 1.0 1.0 7.7

1990 1.0 1.0 1.0 7.9

1989 1.0 1.0 1.0 7.9

1988 1.0 1.0 1.0 8.1

Mining 1995 1.3 1.0 1.1 11.5

1994 1.3 1.0 1.1 11.7

1993 1.3 1.0 1.1 11.5

1992 1.3 1.0 1.1 11.8

1991 1.3 1.0 1.1 12.3

1990 1.3 1.0 1.1 11.8

1989 1.3 1.0 1.1 11.7

1988 1.3 1.0 1.1 12.0

Construction 1995 1.0 1.0 1.0 7.2

1994 1.0 1.0 1.0 6.9

1993 1.0 1.0 1.0 6.4

1992 1.0 1.0 1.0 6.4

1991 1.0 1.0 1.0 6.3

1990 1.0 1.0 1.0 5.9

1989 1.0 1.0 1.0 5.5

1988 1.0 1.0 1.0 5.6

Manufacturing 1995 1.2 1.0 1.1 9.9

1994 1.2 1.0 1.1 10.0

1993 1.2 1.0 1.1 10.0

1992 1.2 1.0 1.1 10.1

1991 1.2 1.0 1.1 10.4

1990 1.2 1.0 1.1 10.1

1989 1.2 1.0 1.1 9.9

1988 1.2 1.0 1.1 9.9

Transportation, 1995 1.4 1.0 1.1 36.8

Communications, 1994 1.4 1.0 1.1 35.9

and Public Utilities 1993 1.4 1.0 1.1 35.0

1992 1.4 1.0 1.1 34.6

1991 1.4 1.0 1.1 34.3

1990 1.3 1.0 1.1 31.4

1989 1.3 1.0 1.1 32.3

1988 1.3 1.0 1.1 31.0

22
Table A.3: Establishments per Firm by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1988 — 1995

Establishments per Firm

Employment Size of Firm (a)

Industry Year Total 0-19 <500 500+

Wholesale Trade 1995 1.3 1.0 1.1 19.8

1994 1.3 1.0 1.1 19.3

1993 1.3 1.0 1.1 19.3

1992 1.3 1.0 1.1 19.8

1991 1.3 1.0 1.1 20.7

1990 1.3 1.0 1.1 20.0

1989 1.3 1.0 1.1 19.4

1988 1.3 1.0 1.1 19.2

Retail Trade 1995 1.4 1.0 1.1 113.7

1994 1.4 1.0 1.1 114.3

1993 1.4 1.0 1.1 112.2

1992 1.4 1.0 1.1 111.8

1991 1.4 1.0 1.1 114.7

1990 1.4 1.0 1.1 111.8

1989 1.4 1.0 1.1 109.8

1988 1.4 1.0 1.1 108.4

Eating and Drinking 1995 1.3 1.0 1.1 75.7

Places (b) 1994 1.3 1.0 1.1 74.9

1993 1.3 1.0 1.1 76.6

1992 1.3 1.0 1.1 77.7

1991 1.3 1.0 1.1 79.4

1990 1.3 1.0 1.1 75.7

1989 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A.

1988 1.3 1.0 1.1 76.7

Finance, Insurance, 1995 1.5 1.0 1.1 48.3

and Real Estate 1994 1.4 1.0 1.1 46.3

1993 1.4 1.0 1.1 42.3

1992 1.5 1.0 1.1 42.0

1991 1.4 1.0 1.1 43.6

1990 1.3 1.0 1.1 44.8

1989 1.3 1.0 1.1 43.3

1988 1.3 1.0 1.1 43.4

Services 1995 1.1 1.0 1.1 17.6

1994 1.1 1.0 1.1 16.4

1993 1.1 1.0 1.1 15.6

1992 1.1 1.0 1.1 15.9

1991 1.1 1.0 1.1 16.0

1990 1.1 1.0 1.1 15.2

1989 1.1 1.0 1.1 14.8

1988 1.1 1.0 1.1 15.0

Business Services (c) 1995 1.2 1.0 1.1 14.9

1994 1.2 1.0 1.1 13.8

1993 1.2 1.0 1.1 13.4

1992 1.2 1.0 1.1 14.2

1991 1.1 1.0 1.0 14.5

1990 1.1 1.0 1.1 13.0

1989 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A.

1988 1.2 1.0 1.1 12.1

23
Table A.3: Establishments per Firm by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1988 — 1995

Establishments per Firm

Employment Size of Firm (a)

Industry Year Total 0-19 <500 500+

Health Services (c) 1995 1.1 1.0 1.1 10.5

1994 1.1 1.0 1.1 9.1

1993 1.1 1.0 1.1 8.0

1992 1.1 1.0 1.1 7.8

1991 1.1 1.0 1.0 7.4

1990 1.1 1.0 1.0 7.1

1989 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A.

1988 1.1 1.0 1.0 7.6

Unclassified 1995 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

1994 1.0 1.0 1.0 - 

1993 1.0 1.0 1.0 - 

1992 1.0 1.0 1.0 - 

1991 1.0 1.0 1.0 - 

1990 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.5

1989 1.0 1.0 1.0 10.9

1988 1.0 1.0 1.0 7.3

N.A. = Not available

Note: Employment is measured in March, thus leading to firms with zero employment and some annual payroll.

(a) Firms are an aggregation of all establishments owned by a parent company.

(b) "Eating and drinking places" is included in the retail trade industry.

(c) "Business services" and "health services" are included in the services industry.

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, based on data provided by the U.S. Department of

Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

24
Table A.4: Employment by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1988 — 1995

Employment Percent of Total Percent of Size

Employment Size of Firm (a) Industry Empl. Class by Industry

Industry Year Total 0-19 <500 500+ 0-19 <500 0-19 <500

All Industries 1995 100,314,946 19,569,861 52,652,510 47,662,436 19.51 52.49 100.00 100.00

1994 96,721,594 19,195,318 51,007,688 45,713,906 19.85 52.74 100.00 100.00

1993 94,773,913 19,070,191 50,316,063 44,457,850 20.12 53.09 100.00 100.00

1992 92,825,797 18,772,644 49,200,841 43,624,956 20.22 53.00 100.00 100.00

1991 92,307,559 18,712,812 49,002,613 43,304,946 20.27 53.09 100.00 100.00

1990 93,469,275 18,911,906 50,166,797 43,302,478 20.23 53.67 100.00 100.00

1989 91,626,094 18,626,776 49,353,860 42,272,234 20.33 53.86 100.00 100.00

1988 87,844,303 18,319,642 47,914,723 39,929,580 20.85 54.55 100.00 100.00

Agricultural Services, 1995 630,287 361,202 560,327 69,960 57.31 88.90 1.85 1.06

Forestry, and Fishing 1994 586,155 341,600 523,648 62,507 58.28 89.34 1.78 1.03

1993 588,556 336,195 534,174 54,382 57.12 90.76 1.76 1.06

1992 593,811 331,705 523,471 70,340 55.86 88.15 1.77 1.06

1991 545,156 310,466 487,766 57,390 56.95 89.47 1.66 1.00

1990 534,125 298,927 477,367 56,758 55.97 89.37 1.58 0.95

1989 498,774 277,952 442,059 56,715 55.73 88.63 1.49 0.90

1988 471,827 261,197 410,505 61,322 55.36 87.00 1.43 0.86

Mining 1995 627,531 76,430 243,139 384,392 12.18 38.75 0.39 0.46

1994 607,745 78,115 247,191 360,554 12.85 40.67 0.41 0.48

1993 608,309 80,156 248,979 359,330 13.18 40.93 0.42 0.49

1992 650,241 81,904 257,718 392,523 12.60 39.63 0.44 0.52

1991 716,425 88,772 294,299 422,126 12.39 41.08 0.47 0.60

1990 723,420 88,638 287,666 435,754 12.25 39.76 0.47 0.57

1989 713,360 88,437 280,966 432,394 12.40 39.39 0.47 0.57

1988 736,777 92,401 290,315 446,462 12.54 39.40 0.50 0.61

Construction 1995 5,040,598 2,211,245 4,501,594 539,004 43.87 89.31 11.30 8.55

1994 4,710,200 2,118,677 4,191,304 518,896 44.98 88.98 11.04 8.22

1993 4,525,346 2,065,951 4,025,084 500,262 45.65 88.95 10.83 8.00

1992 4,501,728 2,040,623 3,986,596 515,132 45.33 88.56 10.87 8.10

1991 4,680,166 2,045,614 4,099,826 580,340 43.71 87.60 10.93 8.37

1990 5,258,524 2,172,737 4,627,949 630,575 41.32 88.01 11.49 9.23

1989 5,135,544 2,143,946 4,543,336 592,208 41.75 88.47 11.51 9.21

1988 4,995,795 2,097,499 4,419,136 576,659 41.99 88.46 11.45 9.22

Manufacturing 1995 18,611,108 1,347,832 7,163,999 11,447,109 7.24 38.49 6.89 13.61

1994 18,098,698 1,334,109 6,972,720 11,125,978 7.37 38.53 6.95 13.67

1993 18,183,981 1,345,715 7,002,312 11,181,669 7.40 38.51 7.06 13.92

1992 18,166,798 1,351,278 6,946,812 11,219,986 7.44 38.24 7.20 14.12

1991 18,390,674 1,331,701 6,910,681 11,479,993 7.24 37.58 7.12 14.10

1990 19,167,922 1,353,611 7,218,049 11,949,873 7.06 37.66 7.16 14.39

1989 19,534,078 1,341,627 7,324,166 12,209,912 6.87 37.49 7.20 14.84

1988 19,234,894 1,326,606 7,198,531 12,036,363 6.90 37.42 7.24 15.02

Transportation, 1995 5,924,706 725,709 2,152,395 3,772,311 12.25 36.33 3.71 4.09

Communications, 1994 5,713,841 696,980 2,061,968 3,651,873 12.20 36.09 3.63 4.04

and Public Utilities 1993 5,621,889 685,168 2,011,803 3,610,086 12.19 35.79 3.59 4.00

1992 5,520,912 662,372 1,957,195 3,563,717 12.00 35.45 3.53 3.98

1991 5,590,526 654,648 1,924,968 3,665,558 11.71 34.43 3.50 3.93

1990 5,594,752 664,664 1,979,775 3,614,977 11.88 35.39 3.51 3.95

1989 5,438,191 657,401 1,934,172 3,504,019 12.09 35.57 3.53 3.92

1988 5,293,212 644,164 1,872,146 3,421,066 12.17 35.37 3.52 3.91

25
Table A.4: Employment by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1988 — 1995

Employment Percent of Total Percent of Size

Employment Size of Firm (a) Industry Empl. Class by Industry

Industry Year Total 0-19 <500 500+ 0-19 <500 0-19 <500

Wholesale Trade 1995 6,606,534 1,616,906 4,429,291 2,177,243 24.47 67.04 8.26 8.41

1994 6,366,549 1,608,033 4,299,244 2,067,305 25.26 67.53 8.38 8.43

1993 6,258,484 1,614,012 4,228,723 2,029,761 25.79 67.57 8.46 8.40

1992 6,095,217 1,547,624 4,064,973 2,030,244 25.39 66.69 8.24 8.26

1991 6,225,619 1,562,596 4,150,176 2,075,443 25.10 66.66 8.35 8.47

1990 6,332,437 1,562,757 4,234,151 2,098,286 24.68 66.86 8.26 8.44

1989 6,192,885 1,559,334 4,200,751 1,992,134 25.18 67.83 8.37 8.51

1988 5,994,021 1,554,003 4,101,865 1,892,156 25.93 68.43 8.48 8.56

Retail Trade 1995 21,086,617 4,405,883 10,964,646 10,121,971 20.89 52.00 22.51 20.82

1994 20,322,081 4,359,184 10,683,652 9,638,429 21.45 52.57 22.71 20.95

1993 19,778,588 4,379,299 10,607,503 9,171,085 22.14 53.63 22.96 21.08

1992 19,681,419 4,434,500 10,629,534 9,051,885 22.53 54.01 23.62 21.60

1991 19,626,546 4,460,478 10,648,372 8,978,174 22.73 54.25 23.84 21.73

1990 19,861,604 4,499,772 10,907,253 8,954,351 22.66 54.92 23.79 21.74

1989 19,478,857 4,465,112 10,834,148 8,644,709 22.92 55.62 23.97 21.95

1988 18,867,211 4,427,483 10,619,471 8,247,740 23.47 56.29 24.17 22.16

Eating and Drinking 1995 7,302,917 1,488,875 4,792,416 2,510,501 20.39 65.62 7.61 9.10

Places (b) 1994 7,019,385 1,463,367 4,625,040 2,394,345 20.85 65.89 7.62 9.07

1993 6,815,776 1,454,375 4,576,343 2,239,433 21.34 67.14 7.63 9.10

1992 6,659,295 1,401,611 4,430,137 2,229,158 21.05 66.53 7.47 9.00

1991 6,518,379 1,373,530 4,331,476 2,186,903 21.07 66.45 7.34 8.84

1990 6,576,794 1,346,210 4,367,196 2,209,598 20.47 66.40 7.12 8.71

1989 6,433,943 1,319,564 4,268,999 2,164,944 20.51 66.35 7.08 8.65

1988 6,208,348 1,293,809 4,158,021 2,050,327 20.84 66.97 7.06 8.68

Finance, Insurance, 1995 6,984,830 1,252,906 3,002,669 3,982,161 17.94 42.99 6.40 5.70

and Real Estate 1994 6,991,421 1,242,588 3,014,609 3,976,812 17.77 43.12 6.47 5.91

1993 6,891,117 1,242,772 3,028,262 3,862,855 18.03 43.94 6.52 6.02

1992 6,904,478 1,203,408 2,963,066 3,941,412 17.43 42.92 6.41 6.02

1991 6,862,377 1,185,795 2,933,633 3,928,744 17.28 42.75 6.34 5.99

1990 6,983,931 1,243,216 3,092,095 3,891,836 17.80 44.27 6.57 6.16

1989 6,819,379 1,215,529 3,024,269 3,795,110 17.82 44.35 6.53 6.13

1988 6,662,355 1,197,385 2,979,584 3,682,771 17.97 44.72 6.54 6.22

Services 1995 34,709,644 7,499,092 19,545,758 15,163,886 21.61 56.31 38.32 37.12

1994 33,255,911 7,357,383 18,944,359 14,311,552 22.12 56.97 38.33 37.14

1993 32,262,429 7,272,399 18,574,009 13,688,420 22.54 57.57 38.13 36.91

1992 30,665,625 7,081,689 17,825,908 12,839,717 23.09 58.13 37.72 36.23

1991 29,623,508 7,035,209 17,506,330 12,117,178 23.75 59.10 37.60 35.73

1990 28,880,444 6,935,273 17,222,797 11,657,647 24.01 59.63 36.67 34.33

1989 27,535,086 6,735,626 16,540,803 10,994,283 24.46 60.07 36.16 33.51

1988 25,252,106 6,546,060 15,747,976 9,504,130 25.92 62.36 35.73 32.87

Business Services (c) 1995 6,951,775 946,226 3,338,638 3,613,137 13.61 48.03 4.84 6.34

1994 6,364,997 928,289 3,191,279 3,173,718 14.58 50.14 4.84 6.26

1993 5,949,822 902,103 3,075,305 2,874,517 15.16 51.69 4.73 6.11

1992 5,465,351 872,869 2,920,075 2,545,276 15.97 53.43 4.65 5.94

1991 5,327,915 919,041 2,950,502 2,377,413 17.25 55.38 4.91 6.02

1990 5,258,530 893,428 2,910,728 2,347,802 16.99 55.35 4.72 5.80

1989 4,911,786 851,024 2,761,550 2,150,236 17.33 56.22 4.57 5.60

1988 4,522,689 794,761 2,562,491 1,960,198 17.57 56.66 4.34 5.35

Health Services (c) 1995 10,991,224 1,725,219 4,470,376 6,520,848 15.70 40.67 8.82 8.49

26
Table A.4: Employment by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1988 — 1995

Employment Percent of Total Percent of Size

Employment Size of Firm (a) Industry Empl. Class by Industry

Industry Year Total 0-19 <500 500+ 0-19 <500 0-19 <500

1994 10,743,655 1,717,048 4,385,299 6,358,356 15.98 40.82 8.95 8.60

1993 10,507,120 1,712,957 4,339,854 6,167,266 16.30 41.30 8.98 8.63

1992 9,817,753 1,686,437 4,065,764 5,751,989 17.18 41.41 8.98 8.26

1991 9,282,506 1,654,152 3,918,448 5,364,058 17.82 42.21 8.84 8.00

1990 8,882,294 1,616,647 3,793,991 5,088,303 18.20 42.71 8.55 7.56

1989 8,516,873 1,567,982 3,651,863 4,865,010 18.41 42.88 8.42 7.40

1988 7,294,245 1,523,830 3,429,992 3,864,253 20.89 47.02 8.32 7.16

Unclassified 1995 93,091 72,656 88,692 4,399 78.05 95.27 0.37 0.17

1994 68,993 58,649 68,993 0 85.01 100.00 0.31 0.14

1993 55,214 48,524 55,214 0 87.88 100.00 0.25 0.11

1992 45,568 37,541 45,568 0 82.38 100.00 0.20 0.09

1991 46,562 37,533 46,562 0 80.61 100.00 0.20 0.10

1990 132,116 92,311 119,695 12,421 69.87 90.60 0.49 0.24

1989 279,940 141,812 229,190 50,750 50.66 81.87 0.76 0.46

1988 336,105 172,844 275,194 60,911 51.43 81.88 0.94 0.57

Note: Employment is measured in March, thus leading to firms with zero employment and some annual payroll.

(a) Firms are an aggregation of all establishments owned by a parent company.

(b) "Eating and drinking places" is included in the retail trade industry.

(c) "Business services" and "health services" are included in the services industry.

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, based on data provided by the U.S. Department of

Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

27
Table A.5: Employment per Firm by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1988 — 1995

Employment per Firm

Employment Size of Firm (a)

Industry Year Total 0-19 <500 500+

All Industries 1995 18.7 4.1 9.8 3,086.1

1994 18.3 4.1 9.7 3,048.2

1993 18.2 4.1 9.7 3,039.0

1992 18.2 4.1 9.7 3,089.1

1991 18.3 4.1 9.7 3,098.3

1990 18.4 4.2 9.9 3,088.0

1989 18.2 4.1 9.9 3,047.1

1988 17.7 4.1 9.7 3,113.7

Agricultural Services, 1995 5.9 3.5 5.2 510.7

Forestry, and Fishing 1994 5.7 3.5 5.1 500.1

1993 5.9 3.6 5.4 424.9

1992 6.2 3.6 5.4 541.1

1991 5.9 3.6 5.3 441.5

1990 6.1 3.6 5.4 436.6

1989 6.0 3.5 5.3 464.9

1988 6.0 3.5 5.2 511.0

Mining 1995 29.1 4.2 11.5 956.2

1994 27.3 4.2 11.3 873.0

1993 27.1 4.2 11.3 865.9

1992 28.3 4.2 11.4 959.7

1991 29.5 4.4 12.3 1,014.7

1990 29.8 4.4 12.0 1,008.7

1989 29.3 4.4 11.7 1,000.9

1988 29.4 4.4 11.8 1,033.5

Construction 1995 8.0 3.8 7.2 813.0

1994 7.7 3.7 6.8 821.0

1993 7.6 3.7 6.8 774.4

1992 7.7 3.8 6.8 801.1

1991 8.0 3.8 7.0 837.4

1990 8.8 4.0 7.8 825.4

1989 8.7 4.0 7.7 744.0

1988 8.7 4.0 7.7 739.3

Manufacturing 1995 56.3 5.6 22.0 2,328.5

1994 55.2 5.5 21.6 2,346.8

1993 55.4 5.6 21.6 2,396.9

1992 55.4 5.6 21.5 2,449.8

1991 57.1 5.6 21.8 2,513.7

1990 58.6 5.7 22.4 2,545.8

1989 60.3 5.7 22.9 2,555.4

1988 60.0 5.7 22.8 2,581.8

Transportation, 1995 28.4 4.0 10.4 2,279.3

Communications, 1994 28.4 4.0 10.3 2,226.8

and Public Utilities 1993 29.1 4.1 10.5 2,225.7

1992 29.9 4.1 10.7 2,220.4

1991 30.8 4.2 10.7 2,312.7

1990 30.9 4.3 11.0 2,231.5

1989 30.5 4.3 10.9 2,237.6

1988 30.6 4.3 10.9 2,222.9

28
Table A.5: Employment per Firm by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1988 — 1995

Employment per Firm

Employment Size of Firm (a)

Industry Year Total 0-19 <500 500+

Wholesale Trade 1995 16.3 4.7 11.0 652.7

1994 15.9 4.7 10.8 628.9

1993 15.8 4.7 10.7 632.1

1992 16.0 4.8 10.8 653.2

1991 16.5 4.9 11.1 666.9

1990 16.9 4.9 11.4 653.7

1989 16.7 5.0 11.4 621.6

1988 16.3 5.0 11.2 599.2

Retail Trade 1995 19.2 4.6 10.0 3,438.2

1994 18.6 4.5 9.8 3,343.2

1993 18.1 4.5 9.8 3,256.8

1992 18.1 4.6 9.8 3,141.9

1991 17.8 4.6 9.7 3,211.1

1990 17.9 4.6 9.9 3,129.8

1989 17.6 4.6 9.8 3,073.1

1988 17.2 4.6 9.7 3,013.4

Eating and Drinking 1995 20.6 5.2 13.6 2,564.4

Places (b) 1994 20.1 5.2 13.3 2,517.7

1993 19.8 5.2 13.4 2,544.8

1992 20.1 5.2 13.4 2,510.3

1991 19.9 5.1 13.2 2,476.7

1990 20.2 5.1 13.5 2,414.9

1989 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A.

1988 19.9 5.1 13.4 2,435.1

Finance, Insurance, 1995 16.1 3.1 7.0 1,332.7

and Real Estate 1994 16.4 3.2 7.1 1,334.9

1993 16.1 3.2 7.1 1,278.2

1992 16.8 3.2 7.3 1,282.6

1991 16.7 3.1 7.2 1,348.2

1990 16.6 3.2 7.4 1,409.6

1989 16.6 3.2 7.4 1,378.5

1988 16.5 3.2 7.4 1,393.4

Services 1995 16.4 3.9 9.3 1,791.4

1994 16.0 3.9 9.2 1,713.3

1993 15.9 3.9 9.2 1,677.5

1992 15.6 4.0 9.1 1,662.7

1991 15.1 3.9 9.0 1,630.6

1990 15.0 4.0 9.0 1,588.7

1989 14.7 3.9 8.9 1,535.1

1988 13.8 3.9 8.6 1,475.3

Business Services (c) 1995 22.8 3.5 11.1 1,390.7

1994 21.6 3.6 10.9 1,260.4

1993 21.3 3.7 11.1 1,200.7

1992 20.7 3.8 11.1 1,146.0

1991 19.0 3.7 10.6 1,125.7

1990 19.6 3.8 10.9 1,087.4

1989 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A.

1988 19.2 3.8 11.0 979.1

Health Services (c) 1995 25.8 4.4 10.6 2,115.8

29
Table A.5: Employment per Firm by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1988 — 1995

Employment per Firm

Employment Size of Firm (a)

Industry Year Total 0-19 <500 500+

1994 25.3 4.4 10.4 2,017.2

1993 24.8 4.4 10.3 1,946.1

1992 23.4 4.4 9.8 1,952.5

1991 22.3 4.3 9.5 1,906.2

1990 21.6 4.3 9.3 1,855.7

1989 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A.

1988 18.3 4.1 8.7 1,764.5

Unclassified 1995 1.8 1.4 1.7 1,099.8

1994 1.4 1.2 1.4 - 

1993 1.1 1.0 1.1 - 

1992 0.6 0.5 0.6 - 

1991 1.6 1.3 1.6 - 

1990 2.0 1.4 1.8 270.0

1989 2.8 1.4 2.3 939.8

1988 2.7 1.4 2.2 922.9

N.A. = Not available

Note: Employment is measured in March, thus leading to firms with zero employment and some annual payroll.

(a) Firms are an aggregation of all establishments owned by a parent company.

(b) "Eating and drinking places" is included in the retail trade industry.

(c) "Business services" and "health services" are included in the services industry.

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, based on data provided by the U.S. Department of

Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

30
Table A.6: Annual Payroll by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1988 — 1995

Payroll ($000) Percent of Total Percent of Size

Employment Size of Firm (a) Industry Payroll Class by Industry

Industry Year Total 0-19 <500 500+ 0-19 <500 0-19 <500

All Industries 1995 2,665,921,824 454,009,065 1,252,135,244 1,413,786,580 17.03 46.97 100.00 100.00

1994 2,487,959,727 432,791,911 1,176,418,685 1,311,541,042 17.40 47.28 100.00 100.00

1993 2,363,208,106 415,254,636 1,116,443,440 1,246,764,666 17.57 47.24 100.00 100.00

1992 2,272,392,408 399,804,694 1,066,948,306 1,205,444,102 17.59 46.95 100.00 100.00

1991 2,145,015,851 381,544,608 1,013,014,303 1,132,001,548 17.79 47.23 100.00 100.00

1990 2,103,971,179 375,313,660 1,007,156,385 1,096,814,794 17.84 47.87 100.00 100.00

1989 1,989,941,554 357,259,587 954,137,110 1,035,804,444 17.95 47.95 100.00 100.00

1988 1,858,652,147 342,168,460 902,566,839 956,085,308 18.41 48.56 100.00 100.00

Agricultural Services, 1995 12,102,236 6,747,009 10,529,016 1,573,220 55.75 87.00 1.49 0.84

Forestry, and Fishing 1994 11,205,411 6,375,154 9,735,952 1,469,459 56.89 86.89 1.47 0.83

1993 10,255,107 5,816,341 8,972,875 1,282,232 56.72 87.50 1.40 0.80

1992 10,049,561 5,568,353 8,685,639 1,363,922 55.41 86.43 1.39 0.81

1991 9,120,610 5,061,590 7,953,246 1,167,364 55.50 87.20 1.33 0.79

1990 8,724,020 4,796,351 7,604,988 1,119,032 54.98 87.17 1.28 0.76

1989 7,956,128 4,441,141 6,900,023 1,056,105 55.82 86.73 1.24 0.72

1988 7,500,456 4,037,813 6,218,758 1,281,698 53.83 82.91 1.18 0.69

Mining 1995 25,698,581 2,227,780 8,056,939 17,641,642 8.67 31.35 0.49 0.64

1994 25,120,696 2,218,374 7,994,081 17,126,615 8.83 31.82 0.51 0.68

1993 24,620,409 2,233,822 7,813,757 16,806,652 9.07 31.74 0.54 0.70

1992 25,594,083 2,121,360 7,716,440 17,877,643 8.29 30.15 0.53 0.72

1991 26,218,161 2,285,010 8,317,963 17,900,198 8.72 31.73 0.60 0.82

1990 26,671,410 2,357,457 8,298,679 18,372,731 8.84 31.11 0.63 0.82

1989 25,005,283 2,184,267 7,636,307 17,368,976 8.74 30.54 0.61 0.80

1988 24,871,993 2,236,106 7,536,404 17,335,589 8.99 30.30 0.65 0.83

Construction 1995 147,320,503 54,555,927 126,747,498 20,573,005 37.03 86.04 12.02 10.12

1994 136,553,421 52,744,331 117,846,927 18,706,494 38.63 86.30 12.19 10.02

1993 125,518,445 49,292,448 107,721,515 17,796,930 39.27 85.82 11.87 9.65

1992 122,174,048 47,372,956 104,040,233 18,133,815 38.77 85.16 11.85 9.75

1991 123,010,082 45,455,431 103,158,299 19,851,783 36.95 83.86 11.91 10.18

1990 132,972,138 46,410,702 112,531,097 20,441,041 34.90 84.63 12.37 11.17

1989 129,338,075 46,036,748 110,203,033 19,135,042 35.59 85.21 12.89 11.55

1988 123,164,980 44,286,841 105,234,517 17,930,463 35.96 85.44 12.94 11.66

Manufacturing 1995 630,965,899 33,359,627 194,238,774 436,727,125 5.29 30.78 7.35 15.51

1994 597,908,096 32,603,495 185,904,440 412,003,656 5.45 31.09 7.53 15.80

1993 575,961,849 31,891,719 179,417,803 396,544,046 5.54 31.15 7.68 16.07

1992 563,235,341 31,332,195 174,128,631 389,106,710 5.56 30.92 7.84 16.32

1991 545,157,710 29,438,300 164,515,271 380,642,439 5.40 30.18 7.72 16.24

1990 543,898,226 29,223,238 165,956,947 377,941,279 5.37 30.51 7.79 16.48

1989 533,982,185 28,069,734 160,762,524 373,219,661 5.26 30.11 7.86 16.85

1988 513,349,110 27,191,930 154,949,720 358,399,390 5.30 30.18 7.95 17.17

Transportation, 1995 200,893,921 16,366,530 53,483,078 147,410,843 8.15 26.62 3.60 4.27

Communications, 1994 190,885,378 15,485,410 50,349,398 140,535,980 8.11 26.38 3.58 4.28

and Public Utilities 1993 182,117,612 14,419,585 46,940,441 135,177,171 7.92 25.77 3.47 4.20

1992 175,532,266 13,540,815 45,127,629 130,404,637 7.71 25.71 3.39 4.23

1991 169,082,574 12,878,346 42,007,810 127,074,764 7.62 24.84 3.38 4.15

1990 165,930,849 12,780,093 42,062,054 123,868,795 7.70 25.35 3.41 4.18

1989 154,037,389 12,303,126 39,900,636 114,136,753 7.99 25.90 3.44 4.18

1988 148,071,069 11,677,101 37,746,546 110,324,523 7.89 25.49 3.41 4.18

31
Table A.6: Annual Payroll by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1988 — 1995

Payroll ($000) Percent of Total Percent of Size

Employment Size of Firm (a) Industry Payroll Class by Industry

Industry Year Total 0-19 <500 500+ 0-19 <500 0-19 <500

Wholesale Trade 1995 226,998,566 48,877,273 137,056,135 89,942,431 21.53 60.38 10.77 10.95

1994 210,169,795 47,033,765 128,826,435 81,343,360 22.38 61.30 10.87 10.95

1993 200,757,826 45,258,821 121,565,996 79,191,830 22.54 60.55 10.90 10.89

1992 190,880,997 42,480,345 114,639,749 76,241,248 22.25 60.06 10.63 10.74

1991 183,066,346 40,724,707 110,168,479 72,897,867 22.25 60.18 10.67 10.88

1990 181,249,158 39,948,119 109,887,928 71,361,230 22.04 60.63 10.64 10.91

1989 171,384,401 38,527,485 105,112,729 66,271,672 22.48 61.33 10.78 11.02

1988 160,666,783 37,053,613 99,852,559 60,814,224 23.06 62.15 10.83 11.06

Retail Trade 1995 300,073,188 57,717,897 154,525,741 145,547,447 19.23 51.50 12.71 12.34

1994 282,315,625 56,040,812 147,759,315 134,556,310 19.85 52.34 12.95 12.56

1993 265,297,525 54,121,824 140,049,866 125,247,659 20.40 52.79 13.03 12.54

1992 258,722,421 54,182,839 137,050,579 121,671,842 20.94 52.97 13.55 12.85

1991 247,516,015 53,230,262 132,886,152 114,629,863 21.51 53.69 13.95 13.12

1990 242,369,258 51,670,196 132,155,508 110,213,750 21.32 54.53 13.77 13.12

1989 230,486,129 49,739,213 127,662,204 102,823,925 21.58 55.39 13.92 13.38

1988 217,332,457 48,166,077 123,360,171 93,972,286 22.16 56.76 14.08 13.67

Eating and Drinking 1995 69,302,480 13,555,890 43,161,236 26,141,244 19.56 62.28 2.99 3.45

Places (b) 1994 64,545,618 13,022,042 40,727,865 23,817,753 20.17 63.10 3.01 3.46

1993 60,986,888 12,492,395 39,107,798 21,879,090 20.48 64.12 3.01 3.50

1992 57,873,636 11,787,920 36,868,214 21,005,422 20.37 63.70 2.95 3.46

1991 54,896,220 11,298,401 35,115,158 19,781,062 20.58 63.97 2.96 3.47

1990 53,086,472 10,662,483 33,843,055 19,243,417 20.09 63.75 2.84 3.36

1989 49,768,821 10,113,538 31,940,014 17,828,807 20.32 64.18 2.83 3.35

1988 46,363,391 9,599,388 30,203,735 16,159,656 20.70 65.15 2.81 3.35

Finance, Insurance, 1995 255,882,857 35,431,584 92,639,971 163,242,886 13.85 36.20 7.80 7.40

and Real Estate 1994 238,780,746 32,873,578 86,624,574 152,156,172 13.77 36.28 7.60 7.36

1993 232,099,601 33,337,441 87,646,287 144,453,314 14.36 37.76 8.03 7.85

1992 221,042,316 30,517,107 81,280,517 139,761,799 13.81 36.77 7.63 7.62

1991 200,394,099 28,482,255 74,254,378 126,139,721 14.21 37.05 7.46 7.33

1990 198,342,124 29,460,724 75,916,388 122,425,736 14.85 38.28 7.85 7.54

1989 185,205,243 27,920,936 71,482,468 113,722,775 15.08 38.60 7.82 7.49

1988 176,104,171 26,868,163 68,659,842 107,444,329 15.26 38.99 7.85 7.61

Services 1995 864,399,439 197,369,219 473,351,840 391,047,599 22.83 54.76 43.47 37.80

1994 794,020,216 186,480,154 440,377,220 353,642,996 23.49 55.46 43.09 37.43

1993 745,774,734 178,127,317 415,509,902 330,264,832 23.88 55.72 42.90 37.22

1992 703,826,217 171,435,217 392,943,731 310,882,486 24.36 55.83 42.88 36.83

1991 640,877,720 163,489,030 369,180,171 271,697,549 25.51 57.61 42.85 36.44

1990 601,553,639 157,183,749 351,005,276 250,548,363 26.13 58.35 41.88 34.85

1989 548,118,560 145,411,052 320,914,642 227,203,918 26.53 58.55 40.70 33.63

1988 480,821,876 137,570,210 294,961,214 185,860,662 28.61 61.35 40.21 32.68

Business Services (c) 1995 164,548,994 25,874,186 80,241,415 84,307,579 15.72 48.76 5.70 6.41

1994 142,419,609 24,380,196 73,255,147 69,164,462 17.12 51.44 5.63 6.23

1993 128,231,376 22,239,488 66,389,582 61,841,794 17.34 51.77 5.36 5.95

1992 115,414,899 21,386,270 61,218,375 54,196,524 18.53 53.04 5.35 5.74

1991 107,434,798 21,094,051 58,644,806 48,789,992 19.63 54.59 5.53 5.79

1990 102,957,877 20,323,104 56,439,804 46,518,073 19.74 54.82 5.41 5.60

1989 91,955,595 18,481,203 51,262,015 40,693,580 20.10 55.75 5.17 5.37

1988 82,395,988 16,744,483 45,970,189 36,425,799 20.32 55.79 4.89 5.09

Health Services (c) 1995 320,574,983 67,602,163 140,103,282 180,471,701 21.09 43.70 14.89 11.19

32
Table A.6: Annual Payroll by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1988 — 1995

Payroll ($000) Percent of Total Percent of Size

Employment Size of Firm (a) Industry Payroll Class by Industry

Industry Year Total 0-19 <500 500+ 0-19 <500 0-19 <500

1994 300,682,761 65,128,946 132,080,680 168,602,081 21.66 43.93 15.05 11.23

1993 287,270,177 63,912,176 127,277,025 159,993,152 22.25 44.31 15.39 11.40

1992 270,818,052 62,692,871 119,631,959 151,186,093 23.15 44.17 15.68 11.21

1991 237,758,858 60,408,536 111,737,719 126,021,139 25.41 47.00 15.83 11.03

1990 216,545,585 57,372,035 103,583,004 112,962,581 26.49 47.83 15.29 10.28

1989 198,486,074 52,638,757 93,736,357 104,749,717 26.52 47.23 14.73 9.82

1988 161,639,837 49,815,497 84,787,389 76,852,448 30.82 52.45 14.56 9.39

Unclassified 1995 1,586,634 1,356,219 1,506,252 80,382 85.48 94.93 0.30 0.12

1994 1,000,343 936,838 1,000,343 0 93.65 100.00 0.22 0.09

1993 804,998 755,318 804,998 0 93.83 100.00 0.18 0.07

1992 1,335,158 1,253,507 1,335,158 0 93.88 100.00 0.31 0.13

1991 572,534 499,677 572,534 0 87.27 100.00 0.13 0.06

1990 2,260,357 1,483,031 1,737,520 522,837 65.61 76.87 0.40 0.17

1989 4,428,161 2,625,885 3,562,544 865,617 59.30 80.45 0.74 0.37

1988 6,769,252 3,080,606 4,047,108 2,722,144 45.51 59.79 0.90 0.45

Note: Employment is measured in March, thus leading to firms with zero employment and some annual payroll.

(a) Firms are an aggregation of all establishments owned by a parent company.

(b) "Eating and drinking places" is included in the retail trade industry.

(c) "Business services" and "health services" are included in the services industry.

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, based on data provided by the U.S. Department of

Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

33
Table A.7: Employer Firm Births and Deaths by Employment Size of Firm, 1989 — 1995

Percent of Size

Beginning year employment size of firm Class

Period Industry Total <20 <500 500+ <20 <500

Firms 1994-1995 Firm births 594,369 568,896 594,119 250 95.7 100.0 

Firm deaths 497,246 472,441 496,874 372 95.0 99.9 

Net change 97,123 96,455 97,245 -122 99.3 - 

1993-1994 Firm births 570,587 546,437 570,337 250 95.8 100.0 

Firm deaths 503,563 476,667 503,125 438 94.7 99.9 

Net change 67,024 69,770 67,212 -188 - - 

1992-1993 Firm births 564,504 539,601 564,093 411 95.6 99.9 

Firm deaths 492,651 466,550 492,266 385 94.7 99.9 

Net change 71,853 73,051 71,827 26 - 100.0 

1991-1992 Firm births 544,596 519,014 544,278 318 95.3 99.9 

Firm deaths 521,606 492,746 521,176 430 94.5 99.9 

Net change 22,990 26,268 23,102 -112 - - 

1990-1991 Firm births 541,141 515,870 540,889 252 95.3 100.0 

Firm deaths 546,518 516,964 546,149 369 94.6 99.9 

Net change -5,377 -1,094 -5,260 -117 - - 

1989-1990 Firm births 584,892 558,478 584,660 232 95.5 100.0 

Firm deaths 531,400 502,685 530,991 409 94.6 99.9 

Net change 53,492 55,793 53,669 -177 - - 

1990-1995 Firm births 1,797,117 1,679,831 1,795,661 1,456 93.5 99.9 

Firm deaths 1,546,705 1,426,040 1,545,007 1,698 92.2 99.9 

Net change 250,412 253,791 250,654 -242 - - 

continued on next page

34
Table A.7: Employer Firm Births and Deaths by Employment Size of Firm, 1989 — 1995

Percent of Size

Beginning year employment size of firm Class

Period Industry Total <20 <500 500+ <20 <500

Employment 1994-1995 Firm births 3,322,001 1,836,153 3,049,456 272,545 55.3 91.8 

Firm deaths 2,822,627 1,516,552 2,633,587 189,040 53.7 93.3 

Continuing firms 3,092,193 1,358,182 2,197,436 894,757 43.9 71.1 

Net change 3,591,567 1,677,783 2,613,305 978,262 46.7 72.8 

1993-1994 Firm births 3,105,753 1,760,322 2,889,507 216,246 56.7 93.0 

Firm deaths 3,077,307 1,549,072 2,800,933 276,374 50.3 91.0 

Continuing firms 1,916,014 1,100,290 1,504,776 411,238 57.4 78.5 

Net change 1,944,460 1,311,540 1,593,350 351,110 67.5 81.9 

1992-1993 Firm births 3,438,106 1,750,662 3,053,765 384,341 50.9 88.8 

Firm deaths 2,906,260 1,515,896 2,697,656 208,604 52.2 92.8 

Continuing firms 1,416,407 1,241,062 1,431,127 -14,720 87.6 - 

Net change 1,948,253 1,475,828 1,787,236 161,017 75.8 91.7 

1991-1992 Firm births 3,200,969 1,703,491 2,863,799 337,170 53.2 89.5 

Firm deaths 3,126,463 1,602,579 2,894,127 232,336 51.3 92.6 

Continuing firms 448,605 1,041,557 875,026 -426,421 - - 

Net change 523,111 1,142,469 844,698 -321,587 - - 

1990-1991 Firm births 3,105,363 1,712,856 2,907,351 198,012 55.2 93.6 

Firm deaths 3,208,099 1,723,159 3,044,470 163,629 53.7 94.9 

Continuing firms -1,058,980 561,228 -570,399 -488,581 - - 

Net change -1,161,716 550,925 -707,518 -454,198 - - 

1989-1990 Firm births 3,211,064 1,886,311 3,090,643 120,421 58.7 96.2 

Firm deaths 3,198,829 1,683,174 2,988,436 210,393 52.6 93.4 

Continuing firms 1,830,946 1,313,100 1,300,511 530,435 71.7 71.0 

Net change 1,843,181 1,516,237 1,402,718 440,463 82.3 76.1 

1990-1995 Firm births 13,304,645 6,514,382 12,126,607 1,178,038 49.0 91.1 

Firm deaths 11,808,721 5,611,968 11,113,149 695,572 47.5 94.1 

Continuing firms 5,357,860 2,457,482 4,228,021 1,129,839 45.9 78.9 

Net change 6,853,784 3,359,896 5,241,479 1,612,305 49.0 76.5 

Notes: 1990-1995 represents firm births that survived until 1995, and firm deaths are firms that existed in 1990.

Represents activity from March of the beginning year to March of the ending year. Establishments with no employment in

the first quarter of the beginning year were excluded. New firm births are classified by their employment size at the first

quarter. Percent of size class is not calculated when size classes change in opposite directions. Firm births

represent new original establishments and deaths represent closed original establishments.

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, based on data provided by the U.S. Department of

Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

35
Table A.8: Dynamic Establishment Changes by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1989 — 1995

Establishment Changes Percent of Total Percent of Size

Beginning year employment size of firm Industry Establ. Class by Industry

Period Industry Total <20 <500 500+ <20 <500 <20 <500

1994-1995 Total 108,320 90,440 90,785 17,535 100.0 100.0 83.5 83.8

Agricultural services 4,212 4,163 4,179 33 4.6 4.6 98.8 99.2

Mining -603 -323 -394 -209 -0.4 -0.4 53.6 65.3

Construction 19,961 20,048 19,776 185 22.2 21.8 - 99.1

Manufacturing 2,490 2,923 2,453 37 3.2 2.7 - 98.5

Trans., comm., & pub. util. 7,483 7,124 6,672 811 7.9 7.3 95.2 89.2

Wholesale trade 5,906 6,033 5,531 375 6.7 6.1 - 93.7

Retail trade 6,548 2,469 2,834 3,714 2.7 3.1 37.7 43.3

 Eating & drinking places 7,026 2,579 4,560 2,466 2.9 5.0 36.7 64.9

Fin., ins., & real estate 10,213 4,764 4,574 5,639 5.3 5.0 46.6 44.8

Services 45,298 36,533 38,351 6,947 40.4 42.2 80.7 84.7

 Business services 15,258 12,409 12,921 2,337 13.7 14.2 81.3 84.7

 Health services 1,945 -554 -50 1,995 -0.6 -0.1 - -

Unclassified 6,812 6,706 6,809 3 7.4 7.5 98.4 100.0

1993-1994 Total 72,502 62,737 58,975 13,527 100.0 100.0 86.5 81.3

Agricultural services 3,027 3,075 2,968 59 4.9 5.0 - 98.1

Mining -554 -411 -493 -61 -0.7 -0.8 74.2 89.0

Construction 14,341 14,788 14,352 -11 23.6 24.3 - -

Manufacturing 530 2,283 1,045 -515 3.6 1.8 - -

Trans., comm., & pub. util. 5,866 5,363 5,048 818 8.5 8.6 91.4 86.1

Wholesale trade 1,002 2,136 1,238 -236 3.4 2.1 - -

Retail trade 1,599 -2,894 -3,171 4,770 -4.6 -5.4 - -

 Eating & drinking places 4,262 1,649 2,957 1,305 2.6 5.0 38.7 69.4

Fin., ins., & real estate 7,105 2,654 1,961 5,144 4.2 3.3 37.4 27.6

Services 34,342 30,581 30,783 3,559 48.7 52.2 89.0 89.6

 Business services 10,821 10,060 9,625 1,196 16.0 16.3 93.0 88.9

 Health services 1,895 -148 256 1,639 -0.2 0.4 - 13.5

Unclassified 5,244 5,162 5,244 0 8.2 8.9 98.4 100.0

1992-1993 Total 51,673 68,639 61,450 -9,777 100.0 100.0 - -

Agricultural services 1,573 1,729 1,610 -37 2.5 2.6 - -

Mining -867 -557 -718 -149 -0.8 -1.2 64.2 82.8

Construction 7,332 8,191 7,381 -49 11.9 12.0 - -

Manufacturing 340 1,773 755 -415 2.6 1.2 - -

Trans., comm., & pub. util. 4,359 4,913 4,316 43 7.2 7.0 - 99.0

Wholesale trade 836 3,344 1,506 -670 4.9 2.5 - -

Retail trade -5,436 636 -1,748 -3,688 0.9 -2.8 - 32.2

 Eating & drinking places 3,943 5,110 6,478 -2,535 7.4 10.5 - -

Fin., ins., & real estate -110 6,193 4,986 -5,096 9.0 8.1 - -

Services 34,955 33,764 34,671 284 49.2 56.4 96.6 99.2

 Business services 7,152 8,571 8,287 -1,135 12.5 13.5 - -

 Health services 4,574 2,528 3,509 1,065 3.7 5.7 55.3 76.7

Unclassified 8,691 8,653 8,691 0 12.6 14.1 99.6 100.0

1991-1992 Total 100,944 38,657 102,450 -1,506 100.0 100.0 38.3 -

36
Table A.8: Dynamic Establishment Changes by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1989 — 1995

Establishment Changes Percent of Total Percent of Size

Beginning year employment size of firm Industry Establ. Class by Industry

Period Industry Total <20 <500 500+ <20 <500 <20 <500

Agricultural services 2,367 2,435 2,380 -13 6.3 2.3 - -

Mining -1,006 -757 -851 -155 -2.0 -0.8 75.2 84.6

Construction -4,663 -3,754 -4,544 -119 -9.7 -4.4 80.5 97.4

Manufacturing -1,627 -366 -168 -1,459 -0.9 -0.2 22.5 10.3

Trans., comm., & pub. util. 8,207 3,332 6,724 1,483 8.6 6.6 40.6 81.9

Wholesale trade 4,982 2,970 7,967 -2,985 7.7 7.8 59.6 -

Retail trade 12,535 -4,676 12,711 -176 -12.1 12.4 - -

 Eating & drinking places 10,620 3,151 11,707 -1,087 8.2 11.4 29.7 -

Fin., ins., & real estate 15,081 6,688 14,182 899 17.3 13.8 44.3 94.0

Services 64,858 32,545 63,839 1,019 84.2 62.3 50.2 98.4

 Business services 6,471 2,168 6,176 295 5.6 6.0 33.5 95.4

 Health services 15,806 7,320 14,539 1,267 18.9 14.2 46.3 92.0

Unclassified 210 240 210 0 0.6 0.2 - 100.0

1990-1991 Total 36,536 54 24,599 11,937 - 100.0 0.1 67.3

Agricultural services 1,934 1,927 1,915 19 - 7.8 99.6 99.0

Mining -116 25 -37 -79 - -0.2 - 31.9

Construction -17,072 -15,413 -16,994 -78 - -69.1 90.3 99.5

Manufacturing -1,573 -282 -1,422 -151 - -5.8 17.9 90.4

Trans., comm., & pub. util. 6,471 855 3,659 2,812 - 14.9 13.2 56.5

Wholesale trade -405 148 -375 -30 - -1.5 - 92.6

Retail trade -7,753 -9,897 -9,250 1,497 - -37.6 - -

 Eating & drinking places 3,758 1,371 2,525 1,233 - 10.3 36.5 67.2

Fin., ins., & real estate 26,659 3,881 24,269 2,390 - 98.7 14.6 91.0

Services 34,489 24,670 28,925 5,564 - 117.6 71.5 83.9

 Business services 8,886 6,424 6,645 2,241 - 27.0 72.3 74.8

 Health services 6,277 4,498 5,531 746 - 22.5 71.7 88.1

Unclassified -6,098 -5,860 -6,091 -7 - -24.8 96.1 99.9

1989-1990 Total 67,798 50,603 52,183 15,615 100.0 100.0 74.6 77.0

Agricultural services 4,013 4,011 3,990 23 7.9 7.6 100.0 99.4

Mining -322 -182 -294 -28 -0.4 -0.6 56.5 91.3

Construction 7,563 8,297 7,538 25 16.4 14.4 - 99.7

Manufacturing 2,502 3,486 2,514 -12 6.9 4.8 - -

Trans., comm., & pub. util. 2,117 2,333 2,341 -224 4.6 4.5 - -

Wholesale trade 2,024 1,742 975 1,049 3.4 1.9 86.1 48.2

Retail trade 5,159 -3,641 -2,066 7,225 -7.2 -4.0 - -

 Eating & drinking places 4,067 1,698 3,809 258 3.4 7.3 41.8 93.7

Fin., ins., & real estate 10,339 5,385 5,930 4,409 10.6 11.4 52.1 57.4

Services 38,113 32,354 34,922 3,191 63.9 66.9 84.9 91.6

 Business services 11,838 10,522 11,003 835 20.8 21.1 88.9 92.9

 Health services 5,813 5,071 5,503 310 10.0 10.5 87.2 94.7

Unclassified -3,710 -3,182 -3,667 -43 -6.3 -7.0 85.8 98.8

1990-1995 Total 371,547 254,220 334,812 36,735 100.0 100.0 68.4 90.1

Agricultural services 13,767 13,683 13,704 63 5.4 4.1 99.4 99.5

37
Table A.8: Dynamic Establishment Changes by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1989 — 1995

Establishment Changes Percent of Total Percent of Size

Beginning year employment size of firm Industry Establ. Class by Industry

Period Industry Total <20 <500 500+ <20 <500 <20 <500

Mining -3,060 -1,820 -2,429 -631 -0.7 -0.7 59.5 79.4

Construction 22,874 26,275 22,838 36 10.3 6.8 - 99.8

Manufacturing 275 5,829 2,512 -2,237 2.3 0.8 - -

Trans., comm., & pub. util. 33,763 21,506 27,140 6,623 8.5 8.1 63.7 80.4

Wholesale trade 18,835 19,606 21,409 -2,574 7.7 6.4 - -

Retail trade 4,429 -9,795 1,529 2,900 -3.9 0.5 - 34.5

 Eating & drinking places 31,936 17,997 30,238 1,698 7.1 9.0 56.4 94.7

Fin., ins., & real estate 59,088 22,121 47,651 11,437 8.7 14.2 37.4 80.6

Services 218,994 154,048 197,850 21,144 60.6 59.1 70.3 90.3

 Business services 44,320 32,340 37,817 6,503 12.7 11.3 73.0 85.3

 Health services 30,855 11,405 22,599 8,256 4.5 6.7 37.0 73.2

Unclassified 2,582 2,767 2,608 -26 1.1 0.8 - -

Notes: Represents activity from March of the beginning year to March of the ending year. Establishments with no employment in

the first quarter of the beginning year were excluded. New firm births are classified by their employment size at the first quarter.

Percent of size class by industry is not calculated when size classes change in opposite directions. Business

and health services are included in services. Eating and drinking places is included in retail trade.

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, based on data provided by the U.S. Department of

Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

38
Table A.9: Dynamic Employment Changes by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1988 — 1995

Employment Changes Percent of Total Percent of Size

Beginning year employment size of firm Industry Empl. Class by Industry

Period Industry Total <20 <500 500+ <20 <500 <20 <500

1994-1995 Total 3,591,567 1,677,783 2,613,305 978,262 100.0 100.0 46.7 72.8

Agricultural services 42,180 39,412 37,680 4,500 2.3 1.4 93.4 89.3

Mining 20,701 4,286 1,510 19,191 0.3 0.1 20.7 7.3

Construction 320,001 314,178 329,091 -9,090 18.7 12.6 98.2 -

Manufacturing 498,515 161,403 392,403 106,112 9.6 15.0 32.4 78.7

Trans., comm., & pub. util. 201,015 87,302 135,517 65,498 5.2 5.2 43.4 67.4

Wholesale trade 276,163 131,049 218,650 57,513 7.8 8.4 47.5 79.2

Retail trade 734,056 242,766 363,961 370,095 14.5 13.9 33.1 49.6

 Eating & drinking places 260,320 112,418 189,597 70,723 6.7 7.3 43.2 72.8

Fin., ins., & real estate -15,982 49,956 24,386 -40,368 3.0 0.9 - -

Services 1,486,219 625,159 1,083,651 402,568 37.3 41.5 42.1 72.9

 Business services 620,354 159,210 382,963 237,391 9.5 14.7 25.7 61.7

 Health services 221,955 86,351 160,036 61,919 5.1 6.1 38.9 72.1

Unclassified 28,699 22,272 26,456 2,243 1.3 1.0 77.6 92.2

1993-1994 Total 1,944,460 1,311,540 1,593,350 351,110 100.0 100.0 67.5 81.9

Agricultural services -2,417 18,701 -7,362 4,945 1.4 -0.5 - -

Mining -5,386 4,373 499 -5,885 0.3 0.0 - -

Construction 185,767 253,710 196,859 -11,092 19.3 12.4 - -

Manufacturing -53,371 126,098 156,484 -209,855 9.6 9.8 - -

Trans., comm., & pub. util. 93,037 68,881 83,573 9,464 5.3 5.2 74.0 89.8

Wholesale trade 97,315 93,778 116,613 -19,298 7.2 7.3 96.4 -

Retail trade 535,643 160,823 188,757 346,886 12.3 11.8 30.0 35.2

 Eating & drinking places 199,388 88,809 111,860 87,528 6.8 7.0 44.5 56.1

Fin., ins., & real estate 103,000 66,273 68,551 34,449 5.1 4.3 64.3 66.6

Services 975,292 506,368 773,796 201,496 38.6 48.6 51.9 79.3

 Business services 412,035 138,459 295,792 116,243 10.6 18.6 33.6 71.8

 Health services 233,131 74,926 147,268 85,863 5.7 9.2 32.1 63.2

Unclassified 15,580 12,535 15,580 0 1.0 1.0 80.5 100.0

1992-1993 Total 1,948,253 1,475,828 1,787,236 161,017 100.0 100.0 75.8 91.7

Agricultural services 2,418 35,306 17,568 -15,150 2.4 1.0 - -

Mining -46,704 2,605 -8,401 -38,303 0.2 -0.5 - 18.0

Construction 52,798 233,209 78,331 -25,533 15.8 4.4 - -

Manufacturing 33,815 126,151 176,889 -143,074 8.5 9.9 - -

Trans., comm., & pub. util. 84,615 75,249 89,989 -5,374 5.1 5.0 88.9 -

Wholesale trade 41,354 92,538 65,688 -24,334 6.3 3.7 - -

Retail trade 313,604 197,640 170,564 143,040 13.4 9.5 63.0 54.4

 Eating & drinking places 98,578 112,833 131,678 -33,100 7.6 7.4 - -

Fin., ins., & real estate -39,462 91,218 100,900 -140,362 6.2 5.6 - -

Services 1,482,298 598,975 1,072,191 410,107 40.6 60.0 40.4 72.3

 Business services 375,679 141,292 294,855 80,824 9.6 16.5 37.6 78.5

 Health services 622,508 95,041 312,454 310,054 6.4 17.5 15.3 50.2

Unclassified 23,517 22,937 23,517 0 1.6 1.3 97.5 100.0

1991-1992 Total 523,111 1,142,469 844,698 -321,587 100.0 100.0 - -

39
Table A.9: Dynamic Employment Changes by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1988 — 1995

Employment Changes Percent of Total Percent of Size

Beginning year employment size of firm Industry Empl. Class by Industry

Period Industry Total <20 <500 500+ <20 <500 <20 <500

Agricultural services 30,687 (D) 19,570 11,117 - 2.3 - 63.8

Mining -52,600 298 -26,062 -26,538 0.0 -3.1 - 49.5

Construction -169,372 127,350 -115,942 -53,430 11.1 -13.7 - 68.5

Manufacturing -336,622 79,675 1,669 -338,291 7.0 0.2 - -

Trans., comm., & pub. util. -74,908 58,500 45,203 -120,111 5.1 5.4 - -

Wholesale trade -84,905 67,086 1,843 -86,748 5.9 0.2 - -

Retail trade 66,055 153,709 61,968 4,087 13.5 7.3 - 93.8

 Eating & drinking places 138,132 106,093 116,820 21,312 9.3 13.8 76.8 84.6

Fin., ins., & real estate 33,927 91,154 82,494 -48,567 8.0 9.8 - -

Services 1,110,382 529,909 773,488 336,894 46.4 91.6 47.7 69.7

 Business services 206,577 96,122 138,079 68,498 8.4 16.3 46.5 66.8

 Health services 541,241 129,106 283,813 257,428 11.3 33.6 23.9 52.4

Unclassified 467 (D) 467 0 - 0.1 - 100.0

1990-1991 Total -1,161,716 550,925 -707,518 -454,198 100.0 100.0 - 60.9

Agricultural services 5,957 24,158 6,858 -901 0.0 -1.0 - -

Mining 2,273 8,362 5,151 -2,878 1.5 -0.7 - -

Construction -589,125 -70,292 -525,619 -63,506 -12.8 74.3 11.9 89.2

Manufacturing -817,880 46,662 -268,737 -549,143 8.5 38.0 - 32.9

Trans., comm., & pub. util. 10,865 32,012 -14,053 24,918 5.8 2.0 - -

Wholesale trade -82,927 35,254 -75,805 -7,122 6.4 10.7 - 91.4

Retail trade -281,121 42,398 -245,932 -35,189 7.7 34.8 - 87.5

 Eating & drinking places -67,826 73,112 -38,639 -29,187 13.3 5.5 - 57.0

Fin., ins., & real estate -39,776 27,582 -32,215 -7,561 5.0 4.6 - 81.0

Services 657,746 419,914 467,961 189,785 76.2 -66.1 63.8 71.1

 Business services 38,319 102,124 89,601 -51,282 18.5 -12.7 - -

 Health services 391,838 93,624 184,368 207,470 17.0 -26.1 23.9 47.1

Unclassified -27,728 -15,125 -25,127 -2,601 0.0 3.6 54.5 90.6

1989-1990 Total 1,843,181 1,516,237 1,402,718 440,463 100.0 100.0 82.3 76.1

Agricultural services 34,735 42,786 34,482 253 0.0 2.5 - 99.3

Mining 10,187 10,170 9,662 525 0.7 0.7 99.8 94.8

Construction 117,596 238,861 106,832 10,764 15.8 7.6 - 90.8

Manufacturing -374,780 116,658 -47,769 -327,011 7.7 -3.4 - 12.7

Trans., comm., & pub. util. 150,036 73,736 90,855 59,181 4.9 6.5 49.1 60.6

Wholesale trade 142,707 97,867 69,728 72,979 6.5 5.0 68.6 48.9

Retail trade 348,021 211,185 118,177 229,844 13.9 8.4 60.7 34.0

 Eating & drinking places 121,041 113,740 114,797 6,244 7.5 8.2 94.0 94.8

Fin., ins., & real estate 157,536 96,639 103,643 53,893 6.4 7.4 61.3 65.8

Services 1,285,167 634,762 945,652 339,515 41.9 67.4 49.4 73.6

 Business services 329,235 143,729 256,135 73,100 9.5 18.3 43.7 77.8

 Health services 359,328 122,537 220,840 138,488 8.1 15.7 34.1 61.5

Unclassified -28,024 -6,427 -28,544 520 0.0 -2.0 22.9 -

1990-1995 Total 6,853,784 3,359,896 5,241,479 1,612,305 100.0 100.0 49.0 76.5

Agricultural services 78,548 88,699 76,285 2,263 2.6 1.5 - 97.1

40
Table A.9: Dynamic Employment Changes by Major Industry and Firm Size, 1988 — 1995

Employment Changes Percent of Total Percent of Size

Beginning year employment size of firm Industry Empl. Class by Industry

Period Industry Total <20 <500 500+ <20 <500 <20 <500

Mining -73,480 -44 -29,972 -43,508 0.0 -0.6 0.1 40.8

Construction -194,897 317,078 -69,741 -125,156 9.4 -1.3 - 35.8

Manufacturing -690,522 288,143 375,710 -1,066,232 8.6 7.2 - -

Trans., comm., & pub. util. 291,929 190,556 306,520 -14,591 5.7 5.8 65.3 -

Wholesale trade 264,035 282,524 331,543 -67,508 8.4 6.3 - -

Retail trade 1,353,120 311,586 482,667 870,453 9.3 9.2 23.0 35.7

 Eating & drinking places 670,343 256,442 488,693 181,650 7.6 9.3 38.3 72.9

Fin., ins., & real estate 12,853 167,833 150,615 -137,762 5.0 2.9 - -

Services 5,809,614 1,706,713 3,615,704 2,193,910 50.8 69.0 29.4 62.2

 Business services 1,655,452 354,073 881,144 774,308 10.5 16.8 21.4 53.2

 Health services 2,050,511 309,429 1,008,513 1,041,998 9.2 19.2 15.1 49.2

Unclassified 2,584 6,808 2,148 436 0.2 0.0 - 83.1

Notes: Represents activity from March of the beginning year to March of the ending year. Establishments with no employment in

the first quarter of the beginning year were excluded. New firm births are classified by their employment size at the first quarter.

(D) = Disclosure. Percent of size class by industry is not calculated when size classes change in opposite directions.

Business and health services are included in services. Eating and drinking places is included in retail trade.

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, based on data provided by the U.S. Department of

Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

41
42

Appendix B: The Creation of the Statistics

of U.S. Businesses

The Statistics of U.S. Businesses (SUSB) is an aggregation of microdata describing individual business locations. The data are analyzed

by the SBA’s Office of Advocacy to determine small business’ role in

major industries.

The following discussion lists the steps the Bureau of the Census

uses to create the microdata and aggregations for SUSB:10

• To develop microdata, the Bureau of the Census assembles data

from a number of sources to construct an annual business name register, or Standard Statistical Establishment List (SSEL). Census uses

the SSEL to draw business samples, organize business censuses, and

store annual business statistics for each establishment. The SSEL

incorporates data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Business

Master File (to obtain names and addresses of business tax filers) and

IRS Form 941 (to obtain payroll and employment reported with

Social Security tax payments). In addition, the Census Bureau’s

annual Company Organization Survey (COS), its annual survey of

manufactures, the economic census, current industrial reports, and

other Census current surveys are used to find linked establishments

that create multi-unit enterprises. Missing payroll data are imputed

from prior year reported data, or other currently reported payroll

data, and missing employment data are imputed from the (more frequently) reported first-quarter payroll data. Since 1991, Census has

obtained and improved some establishment industry classifications

through periodic comparisons with establishment data from the

Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• To select relevant microdata from the SSEL, the Bureau of the

Census runs the County Business Patterns (CBP) program to select

data from the SSEL for all businesses that had any payroll payments

during the year. It further edits the key data for the selected records

to ensure they are reported consistently with the previous year’s data.

The selected records are aggregated to produce CBP tables on establishments by industry, state, and county. The CBP tables contain

10. Ken Sausman of the Bureau of the Census provided some of the information

used in this appendix. The Census Bureau maintains an Internet site for the

Statistics of U.S. Businesses at http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/sb001.html.
information on establishments, employment (on March 12), and

annual payroll by industry, state, and county. 

• To produce the SUSB microdata, the Bureau of the Census

selects records from the CBP microdata file, which contains a code

linking establishments that are part of multi-establishment (or multiunit) firms. In addition, codes for metropolitan statistical areas

(MSAs) are calculated for each establishment in an MSA and, if necessary, an MSA code is added to establishment records. 

• To produce the SUSB static tables, the Census Bureau runs the

SUSB tabulation programs on the SUSB microdata, aggregating the

employment of commonly-owned establishments to create enterprise

employment. This enterprise employment is appended to each establishment record. Annual receipts are estimated from the establishments payroll using receipts-to-payroll ratios developed from the

most recent Economic Censuses. Estimated receipts by establishment are included in each establishment record. To produce state

tables, Census aggregates firms, establishments, employment, annual

payroll, and estimated receipts within a state by employment size of

enterprise. Note that the overall U.S. employment of the enterprise

is used to determine the employment size class for enterprises within

states. Similar methods are used to create industry and MSA tables.

The SUSB static tables contain information on firms, establishments, employment (on March 12), annual payroll, and estimated

receipts by employment size of enterprise for industries, states, and

MSAs.

• To produce the SUSB dynamic tables, the Bureau of the Census

constructs the SUSB composite file using a longitudinal pointer file

to track the identity of each establishment in the tabulation files for

different years. The longitudinal pointer file is constructed by linking records for establishments in each new SUSB tabulation file to

those in the file from the previous year, matching first on Census

identification number. If this does not match, then a variety of other

characteristics are used to search for continuing establishments. This

facilitates tracking individual establishments whose identification

numbers have been changed because of changes in ownership or

legal form or structure. Use of the longitudinal pointer file prevents

the double counting of establishments that exist under more than

one identity during a year, and it greatly reduces the incidence of

false births and deaths occurring as a result of identification number

changes. The SUSB dynamic tables contain information on establishments (the number of establishments, establishment births, and

establishment closures), and employment (employment from surviving establishments, establishment births, and establishment closures)

for start and end years by employment size of enterprise. In addi43
tion, national figures are broken out for the establishment and

employment changes in both original and secondary locations.

44