By ,
Published January 14, 2015
Everyone from President Obama to Democrats and Republicans in Congress think they know what's best for small businesses, and have proposed everything from health care reform to tax credits. But what do those business owners have to say? What does the Small Business Association say? Fox News goes On the Job Hunt to find out what small business owners say will help them survive the recession, and whether Congress' proposed remedies fit the bill.
Fox News Brainroom Fast Facts:
• Small businesses are defined as independent and having fewer than 500 employees
• Small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms
• Small businesses employ just over half of all private sector employees
• Small businesses pay 44 percent of total U.S. private payroll
• Small businesses have generated 64 percent of net new jobs over the past 15 years
• Small businesses employ roughly half of all U.S. workers
• Small businesses hire 40 percent of high tech workers (such as scientists, engineers, and computer programmers)
• Small businesses 52 percent home-based and 2 percent franchises
Job Creation:
• Small businesses accounted for 64 percent of the net new jobs gained between 1993 and the third quarter of 2008
Stimulus:
• The Small Business Administration received $730 million in stimulus funds to help unlock the small business lending market and get capital flowing again to America's small businesses
Loans:
• The Small Business Association approved 36 percent fewer government-guaranteed loans in its FY 2009
• Since the stimulus was signed, SBA loan volume has increased by 77 percent
• SBA fiscal 2009 year loan volume dropped to $9.3 billion, falling short of the previous year's mark by $3.4 billion
• Early 2009: SBAs total loan approvals hovered at $160 million to $170 million a week. By July and August, that figure had risen to $320 million to $400 million.
• However, for comparison, SBAs weekly loan approvals were usually north of $425 million in July and August 2007
• President Obama's FY 2010 budget wants $28 billion in loan guarantees to expand credit availability for small businesses
Survey:
• Survey: 31% of Small business owners or managers said they plan to give an end-of-year bonus in 2009, down from 44 percent the previous year
• Survey: 16% of small business owners or managers plan on giving raises compared with 30 percent last year
https://www.foxnews.com/story/fast-facts-small-business-in-the-u-s