7 interesting facts about Utah's small businesses
This week is Small Business Week, which celebrates local business owners, the mom and pop stores and the many entrepreneurs trying to sell their wares to earn a living.
In honor Small Business Week, we wanted to focus on the many interesting details of the small business community, particularly here in Utah.
Here are 10 fun facts about small businesses in Utah. All information is provided by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
-- Kurt Hanson, Daily Herald
They make up more than 99% of businesses
The definition of a small business varies by industry, but for the most part, a small business can have as much as 250 or even 1,500 employees. According to the SBA, 99.3% of Utah's businesses are defined as small businesses.
Less than half of all employees work for small businesses
Of the state's workforce, 557,794 employees in Utah are employed by small businesses, accounting for 46.3% of the working class. However, that number is growing. Between 2017 and 2018, 29,956 new jobs were at small businesses.
More than 8% are owned by minorities
The 2018 Utah small business profile states the 24,406 of the state's small businesses are minority-owned. That makes up only 8.81%. Asians own the most businesses of the minority demographics, followed by African Americans.
Utah County small business employment
Utah County hovers right around the state average for small business employment percentages. Between 43 and 56% of Utah County's working class work for small businesses.
Trading beyond the states
Utah residents have never been known to think within just the confines of the county, to the betterment of the global market. 2,917 of the small businesses in Utah export globally.
Largest small business employer
With all the fabulous locally-owned restaurants, it should be little surprise that the industry that employs the most small business employees is accommodation and food services, with 69,648 employees.
Smallest small business employer
What's ironic is on the other side of that chart, the smallest employer of small business employees is the agriculture, forestry, and fishing and hunting industry.
