Almost 7 million new businesses were created in the United States in 2009 — the greatest number of start-ups in almost 15 years. Slightly more than one-third of Americans are self-employed, and the demographic that experienced the most growth in terms of starting businesses was African-Americans.
More facts about businesses:
- Small, non-farm businesses account for about 99 percent all organizations that employ people in the United States. A small business is considered to be one with fewer than 500 employees.
- There are almost 30 million small businesses in the U.S., and only 20,000 large ones.
- Almost 40 percent of businesses fail within the first five years.
