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August 2, 2006
70% of American companies have no official employees
CNN/Money has posted a fascinating item about the changing face of American business. Apparently, the "mom and pop" store of old time America is being replaced by one-person Internet auction boutiques and other small businesses without any official employees on the payroll. In fact, more than 70% of all American businesses have no employees on the payroll! (I assume that a good percentage of these companies don't count the likes of independent contractors, outsourcers, consultants and illegal immigrants as payroll employees, but that's still a staggeringly high percentage). As CNN/Money points out, it's all part of a transformation of U.S. business:
"The notion of a typical "mom and pop" business is getting a makeover... Yesterday's image of a family-run corner store is giving way to nail salons, Internet-based auction sites and even motorcycle dealerships, according to the Census Bureau survey of small businesses run by one or more people that range from home-based firms to corner stores... Businesses without a payroll now make up more than 70 percent of the nation's more than 27 million companies, with annual sales of about $887 billion, the survey said. Building contractors, Internet service providers, nail salons, e-shopping and mail-order houses, lessors of real estate, formal wear and costume rental stores and motorcycle dealers were among the fastest growing of the smallest firms."
If you're wondering where all these businesses are located, the hot spots are apparently Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Utah and Arizona.
Tags: business innovation small business
[image: A vintage mom and pop store]
Posted by dominic at August 2, 2006 7:27 AM | Recommend this! | +dlc | +dig
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That's great!!
