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Georgia small business profile
In Georgia, small businesses are vital to the financial well-being of the state’s economy. Their contribution is essential for economic growth since they make up almost all employer firms in the state. As entrepreneurs and innovators, small business owners represented a diverse group in 2004 and continued to keep the state’s economy productive. The Small Business Profile provides information on the performance of small businesses in the state using the most current federal data available. This Small Business Profile was prepared by the U.S. Small Business Administration and provides information on the performance of small businesses in the state using the most current federal data available.
Number of Businesses
There were an estimated 722,089 small businesses in Georgia in 2004. Of the 202,979 firms with employees, an estimated 97.7 percent, or 198,271, were small firms. In 2004, the estimated number of employer businesses increased by 3.1 percent. The number of self-employed persons (including incorporated) decreased overall by 7.0 percent, from 491,522 in 2003 to 456,896 in 2004. Non-employer businesses numbered 523,818 in 2002, an increase of 6.3 percent since 2001, based on the most recent data available.
(Sources: U.S. Dept. of Labor, Employment and Training Administration; U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Census Bureau; U.S. Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.)
Women-Owned Businesses
In 2002 women-owned firms totaled 196,224, an increase of 35 percent from 1997, and generated $30.2 billion in revenues. Firms owned jointly by women and men numbered 64,687 with revenues of $18.0 billion. Women represented 32 percent of the self-employed persons in the state.
(Sources: U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics; U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Census Bureau.)
Minority-Owned Businesses
In 2002, Hispanic-owned firms numbered 18,375, an increase of 57 percent from 1997. Black-owned firms numbered 90,480, an increase of 62 percent; Asian-owned firms numbered 26,923, an increase of 49 percent; American Indian and Alaska Native-owned firms numbered 4,472, an increase of 0.04 percent; and there were 203 Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander-owned businesses.
(Source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Census Bureau.)
Business Turnover
There were an estimated 29,547 new employer businesses in 2004, 22 percent more than the previous year. Business terminations numbered 27,835 in 2004, an increase of 7.5 percent. Business bankruptcies increased by 31.9 percent and totaled 2,090 in 2004.
(Sources: U.S. Dept. of Labor, Employment and Training Administration; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts; U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Census Bureau.)
Employment
Small firms with fewer than 500 employees numbered 160,442 in 2002 and employed 1,493,178 individuals, or 44.2 percent of the state’s non-farm private sector. Net job gains among firms with fewer than 20 employees totaled 30,882, while large firms with 500 or more employees lost 81,660 jobs between 2001 and 2002.
(Source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Census Bureau, Statistics of U.S. Businesses.)
Small Business Income
Non-farm proprietors’ income, a partial measure of small business income, increased by 10 percent, from $20.8 billion in 2002 to $22.8 billion in 2003.
(Source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce.)
Finance
Commercial bank lenders are an important source of small business loans, and small firms usually rely on them for financing. Over the last 10 years the number of banks in Georgia has declined. The Office of Advocacy has identified banks in each state that make the most loans to small businesses. This information is available in its banking studies at http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/lending.html.
