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Montana small business profile
In Montana, 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 106,789 small businesses in Montana in 2004. Of the 34,570 firms with employees, an estimated 97.8 percent, or 33,801, were small firms. In 2004, the estimated number of employer businesses increased by 1.7 percent. The number of self-employed persons (including incorporated) decreased overall by 0.1 percent, from 92,656 in 2003 to 92,597 in 2004. Non-employer businesses numbered 72,988 in 2002, an increase of 2.4 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 24,552, an increase of 10 percent from 1997, and generated $2.1 billion in revenues. Firms owned jointly by women and men numbered 18,445 with revenues of $3.8 billion. Women represented 37 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 964, a decrease of 4 percent from 1997. Black-owned firms numbered 220, an increase of 255 percent; Asian-owned firms numbered 512, an increase of 39 percent; American Indian and Alaska Native-owned firms numbered 1,990, an increase of 4 percent; and the number of Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander-owned businesses was unavailable.
(Source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Census Bureau.)
Business Turnover
There were an estimated 4,588 new employer businesses in 2004, 0.9 percent more than the previous year. Business terminations numbered 4,896 in 2004, an increase of 4.6 percent. Business bankruptcies increased by 11.2 percent and totaled 109 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 28,171 in 2002 and employed 209,551 individuals, or 69.7 percent of the state’s non-farm private sector. Net job gains among firms with fewer than 20 employees totaled 2,259, while large firms with 500 or more employees lost 2,015 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 16.1 percent, from $2.3 billion in 2002 to $2.7 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 Montana 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.
