Number of minority-owned businesses increases but economic equality remains elusive

The U.S. Commerce Department's Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and the U.S. Census Bureau today announced that the number of minority-owned firms increased by 46 percent...

From BusinessWire

WASHINGTON—(BUSINESS WIRE)—The U.S. Commerce Department’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and the U.S. Census Bureau today announced that the number of minority-owned firms increased by 46 percent to 5.8 million between 2002 and 2007 according to data from the Preliminary Estimates of Business Ownership by Gender, Ethnicity, Race and Veteran Status: 2007, from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2007 Survey of Business Owners.

“It is encouraging that the minority business community is growing and making progress relative to all U.S. firms, but economic parity remains elusive,” MBDA’s National Director, David A. Hinson said. “While the number of minority-owned businesses continues to grow, they are still smaller in size and scale compared to non-minority-owned firms.”

In 2007, average gross receipts for minority-owned firms increased to $179,000 from $167,000 in 2002 – still well below gross receipts for non-minority-owned firms, which had average gross receipts of $490,000.

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