ISSUE: Small business

OUR OPINION: Good reasons to love economic contributions

Valentine’s Day is for lovers. Consider that for South Carolinians, there is reason for love on a different level this special day. It may not be romantic, but you could say it cuts to the “heart” of the matter.

Small businesses are the heart of South Carolina’s economy, and we join the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration in sending them this Valentine with the reasons to love them:

10. Small businesses make up 97.4 percent of all South Carolina employers. That’s a .1 percent increase over a year ago.

9. Small businesses create more than 50 percent of the American non-farm private gross domestic product.

8. Small patenting firms produce 13 to 14 times more patents per employee than large patenting firms. That, too, is an increase.

7. The 339,900 small businesses in South Carolina are located in every community and neighborhood. Here’s where the signs of harder times are apparent. The total number of businesses is down by 13,000.

6. Small businesses employ 49.2 percent of South Carolina’s non-farm private sector workers. That’s a small decline from over 50 percent from a year ago, despite the loss of so many small businesses.

5. Home-based businesses account for 53 percent of all small businesses, an increase of 1 percent. 

4. Small businesses are 97 percent of America’s exporters and produce 26 percent of all export value, which is down from 28.6 percent.

3. South Carolina saw an estimated 12,341 new small firms with employees start up in the last year measured. That’s roughly the same number as the year before.

2. There are approximately 37,600 minority-owned businesses and 76,831 women-owned businesses in South Carolina, and almost all of them are small businesses. Both numbers represent increases.

1. The latest figures show that small business creates 65 percent or more of America’s net new jobs. That’s a consistent number and one that cannot be understated.

Attracting big business and industry will remain an economic priority for our locale and around the country. Yet a mix of business remains important for a well-rounded economy. On Valentine’s Day and all year, it’s safe to say that people have reason to spread some love to the small businesses that are the backbone of the economy. 

 

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