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Small businesses—firms with 249 or fewer employees—accounted for 99 percent of the 5.6 million firms covered under Unemployment Insurance in the first quarter of 2023. Small Business Week, April 28–May 4, celebrates these businesses contributions to the economy. Over the last ten years, those small businesses have employed an average of 46 percent of the covered workforce. However, over the same period, small businesses contributed 55 percent of the net total number of jobs created.
Month | Small firms | Large firms | Total, all firms |
---|---|---|---|
Mar 2013 |
368,000 | 214,000 | 582,000 |
Jun 2013 |
361,000 | 289,000 | 650,000 |
Sep 2013 |
294,000 | 179,000 | 473,000 |
Dec 2013 |
227,000 | 404,000 | 631,000 |
Mar 2014 |
380,000 | 62,000 | 442,000 |
Jun 2014 |
516,000 | 377,000 | 893,000 |
Sep 2014 |
314,000 | 246,000 | 560,000 |
Dec 2014 |
362,000 | 589,000 | 951,000 |
Mar 2015 |
243,000 | -17,000 | 226,000 |
Jun 2015 |
510,000 | 336,000 | 846,000 |
Sep 2015 |
227,000 | 229,000 | 456,000 |
Dec 2015 |
317,000 | 513,000 | 830,000 |
Mar 2016 |
250,000 | 4,000 | 254,000 |
Jun 2016 |
188,000 | 143,000 | 331,000 |
Sep 2016 |
294,000 | 458,000 | 752,000 |
Dec 2016 |
108,000 | 137,000 | 245,000 |
Mar 2017 |
537,000 | 125,000 | 662,000 |
Jun 2017 |
296,000 | 274,000 | 570,000 |
Sep 2017 |
-144,000 | 54,000 | -90,000 |
Dec 2017 |
377,000 | 427,000 | 804,000 |
Mar 2018 |
461,000 | 268,000 | 729,000 |
Jun 2018 |
296,000 | 219,000 | 515,000 |
Sep 2018 |
-117,000 | 141,000 | 24,000 |
Dec 2018 |
336,000 | 327,000 | 663,000 |
Mar 2019 |
415,000 | 157,000 | 572,000 |
Jun 2019 |
164,000 | 105,000 | 269,000 |
Sep 2019 |
-42,000 | 32,000 | -10,000 |
Dec 2019 |
298,000 | 349,000 | 647,000 |
Mar 2020 |
-467,000 | -186,000 | -653,000 |
Jun 2020 |
-7,501,000 | -7,592,000 | -15,093,000 |
Sep 2020 |
2,047,000 | 1,973,000 | 4,020,000 |
Dec 2020 |
854,000 | 998,000 | 1,852,000 |
Mar 2021 |
1,197,000 | 643,000 | 1,840,000 |
Jun 2021 |
944,000 | 72,000 | 1,016,000 |
Sep 2021 |
643,000 | 775,000 | 1,418,000 |
Dec 2021 |
1,381,000 | 1,353,000 | 2,734,000 |
Mar 2022 |
586,000 | 1,085,000 | 1,671,000 |
Jun 2022 |
318,000 | 11,000 | 329,000 |
Sep 2022 |
319,000 | 1,050,000 | 1,369,000 |
Dec 2022 |
363,000 | 97,000 | 460,000 |
Mar 2023 |
592,000 | 512,000 | 1,104,000 |
Jun 2023 |
133,000 | 150,000 | 283,000 |
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first two quarters of 2020, small businesses suffered greater net job losses than large establishments. Small businesses lost 8.0 million jobs during this period, while 7.8 million jobs were lost in larger firms.
Later in 2020, firms with 250 or more employees had a net job gain of 3.0 million, slightly more 2.9 million jobs added by small businesses. Since the first quarter of 2021, small businesses have accounted for 53 percent of 12.2 million total net job creation across all firm sizes.
These data are from the Business Employment Dynamics program. Quarterly data are seasonally adjusted. For more data like these, see National Business Employment Dynamics Data by Firm Size Class.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Small businesses contributed 55 percent of the total net job creation from 2013 to 2023 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2024/small-businesses-contributed-55-percent-of-the-total-net-job-creation-from-2013-to-2023.htm (visited October 31, 2024).