WASHINGTON, May 30 (UPI) — The number of businesses with no paid employees rose 1.7 percent in 2011, gaining in all states except two, the U.S. Census Bureau said Thursday.
The number of one-person businesses rose to 22.5 million in the year, the Census Bureau said.
The bureau counts businesses with no paid employees that have annual receipts of at least $1,000, although it counts construction businesses if they made at least $1.
“Approximately 75 percent of all U.S. business locations are non-employee businesses,” said William Bostic Jr., associate director for economic programs at the U.S. Census Bureau in a statement.
That means, the businesses may be small but they add up. About 19.4 million of these businesses are listed as sole proprietorship. Another 1.6 million are listed as partnerships and 1.4 million are corporations, the bureau said.
In 2011, California had the largest increase in “non-employer businesses,” gaining 72,605 in the year. Texas was next with 41,148 and Florida was third with 31,485.
The largest gains were in “other services,” which includes beauty salons, barber shops, automotive repair shops, and maintenance workers, the bureau said.
Only Louisiana and New Hampshire posted declines non-employer businesses in the year, the bureau said.
The statistics can be found in an annual report with the latest edition titled “Nonemployer Statistics: 2011.”
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