All told, in excess of 850,000 people work at more than 40,000 businesses in the five-county metropolitan area.
Small businesses give the economy the flexibility it needs to adapt to rapidly changing conditions.
More than 94 percent of Milwaukee-area businesses employ fewer than 50 people. Not that there aren't an abundance of large employers. According to The Business Journal Serving Greater Milwaukee , which tracks business data in the five-county area, more than 25 companies had more than 2,500 employees in 1999. Although Milwaukee's economy was built on beers and gears, the service sector has been the primary contributor to Milwaukee's economic growth in recent years. Between 1990 and 1999, the service sector created 58,000 jobs, or two-thirds of all new positions.