Study: Number Of Hispanic-Owned Businesses Growing Fast

WASHINGTON -- The number of Hispanic-owned businesses grew at three times the rate for all companies from 1997 to 2002, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.

In 2002, the latest year figures were available, the government said there were nearly 1.6 million businesses owned by Hispanics. That was a 31 percent increase over five years.

The Hispanic-owned businesses generated nearly $222 billion in revenue, up 19 percent from 1997.

"The growth we see in Hispanic-owned businesses illustrates the changing fabric of American’s business and industry. With Hispanic businesses among the fastest growing segments of our economy, this is a good indicator of how competitiveness is driving the American economy," said Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon.

Nearly a-third of the Hispanic-owned businesses were in construction or other service-related industries.

Only 13 percent of the firms had any employees other than the owner, according to the report.

The Census Bureau defined an Hispanic-owned business as a private company in which at least 51 percent of the owners are Hispanic.

The report did not consider public companies, with publicly traded stock.

Other Report Highlights:

• Nearly 3 in 10 Hispanic-owned firms operated in construction and other services, such as personal services, and repair and maintenance
• Firms owned by people of Mexican origin accounted for more than 44 percent of all Hispanic-owned firms
• Retail and wholesale trade accounted for 36 percent of Hispanic-owned business revenue
• There were 29,184 Hispanic-owned firms with receipts of $1 million or more
• There were 1,510 Hispanic-owned firms with 100 employees or more, generating more than $42 billion in gross receipts
• States with the fastest rates of growth for Hispanic-owned firms between 1997 and 2002 included New York (57 percent), Rhode Island and Georgia (56 percent each), Nevada and South Carolina (48 percent each)
• Counties with the highest number of Hispanic-owned firms were Los Angeles County, Calif. (188,472); Miami-Dade County, Fla. (163,188); Harris County, Texas (61,934); and Bronx County, N.Y. (38,325)

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