JAN. 28, 2021 — The U.S. Census Bureau today released new estimates on the characteristics of employer businesses. According to the 2019 Annual Business Survey (ABS), covering reference year 2018, approximately 18.3% (1.0 million) of all U.S. businesses were minority-owned and about 19.9% (1.1 million) of all businesses were owned by women.

Additional statistics released include:

• In the United States, the four sectors with the most businesses were Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services; Construction; Health Care and Social Assistance; and Retail Trade. Combined, these estimated 2.8 million businesses employed about 51.1 million people and had an annual payroll of approximately $2.6 trillion.

• Veteran-owned businesses made up about 5.9% (337,934) of all businesses, with an estimated $947.7 billion in receipts, approximately 3.9 million employees, and about $177.7 billion in annual payroll.

The Veteran Women’s Enterprise Center (VWEC) based on a segment of our mission to “advocate for relevant research, services and funding” we will be digging deeper into this data to identify the specific statistics related to women veteran owned businesses and how we can use this data to help women veteran entrepreneurs access the resources they need to succeed.

In the meantime review our Phase 1. Moments that Matter Report in collaboration with the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank as well as the Women-Veteran Entrepreneurs Face Hardships Made Worse by Pandemic comparative analysis and/or participate in our series of Women Veteran Entrepreneurs National Focus Groups working to change the narrative and bring the voices of women veterans out of the shadow, email info@veteranwomensec.org to schedule your private group session.