The Importance of Small Businesses to the American Economy (ContributorNetwork)

Americans have come to know the day after Thanksgiving as Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year. Cyber Monday -- the Monday after Thanksgiving -- has also emerged in the past several years as the busiest online shopping day of the holiday season.

Add one more to the mix: Small Business Saturday.

American Express created the shopping day in 2010 as a way to "celebrate and support local, independently-owned small businesses that create jobs, boost the economy and invigorate neighborhoods across the country," according to the credit card giant.

Small businesses that accept American Express saw an average of 28-percent increase in sales over the same day in 2009, according to a survey completed by the credit card issuer.

Why are small businesses important to the economy of the United States?

* The United States government recognizes companies with 500 or fewer employees as a small business.

* Small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all employers in the U.S., according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

* U.S. Census data shows that small businesses with 500 or fewer employees make up 99.9 percent of the 27.5 million businesses in the United States, as of 2009.

* Fifty-two percent of the 27.5-million businesses are home-based, with another two percent in franchises.

* Half of all private sector employees are employed by small business. These types of firms are also responsible for 44 percent of private firm payroll and create more than 50 percent of the non-farm GDP of the U.S.

* Forty-three percent of workers in high-tech industries like engineering and computer programming are employed by small businesses. Small firms are also responsible for 13 times more patents per employee than large firms.

* Sixty-seven percent of the jobs created in the past 17 years were by small business, according to the SBA.

* Nearly 70 percent of small businesses are still open after two years; half are open at least five years and about 25 percent remain in business for 15 or more years.

* Women owned 7.8 million of the 27.1. million non-farm businesses in the U.S. as of 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

* Small businesses increase home values, according to the American Express OPEN Independent Retail Index published in October. Home values in 27 studied neighborhoods with a large number of independent businesses were four percent higher than the value of homes in broader markets.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111122/bs_ac/10372197_the_importance_of_small_businesses_to_the_american_economy

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