NC BUSINESS STATISTICS

Small Business Employment

There were an estimated 734,000 small businesses in North Carolina in 2005. There were 182,950 employer businesses, and 98% were small (with fewer than 500 employees). Self-employed persons were estimated at 551,040.

In 2004, small businesses (those with fewer than 500 workers) employed 49% of the state's 3,365,633 non-farm-sector employees.

In 2004, North Carolina had 21,261 new firms with employees, 11.3 percent more than the previous reporting period.

Between 2003 and 2004, small businesses in North Carolina added a net total of 43,785 employees.

SOURCE: US Department of Commerce, Census Bureau

Women and Minority Business Ownership

In 2003, self-employed women totaled 85,117, or 33.8 percent of self-employed workers in North Carolina.

Of the 81,059 minority-owned business in North Carolina, 14.8 percent had employees as of 2002, the latest date for which these figures are available (preliminary estimate).

Minority-owned businesses represented 12.6 percent of North Carolina's businesses and generated $6.7 billion in revenues in 2002 (preliminary estimate).

SOURCES: US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics / US Department of Commerce, Census Bureau

High-tech Businesses

North Carolina employs 142,300 high-tech workers (16th nationally). Tech industry gained dramatically with only 7,600 net jobs lost between 2004 and 2005.

High-tech firms in North Carolina employeed 44 of every 1,000 private-sector workers in 2005 (5^th nationwide).

North Carolina's high-tech workers earned an average wage of $69,700 (or 95 percent more than the average private-sector worker's wage) in 2005.

North Carolina's high-tech payroll ($9.9 billion in 2005) ranked 15^th nationally.

SOURCE: Cyberstates 2007: A State-by-State Overview of the High-Technology Industry (American Electronics Association, 2007)

Investment and R&D Funding

The North Carolina District Small Business Administration (SBA) office processed their greatest number of small business loans (1,771 totalling $227 million) in FY 2005. This is a 28 percent increase over FY 2004.¹

In 2007, NC companies raised $577 million (10th highest nationally) in venture capital, an 11% increase over 2006.²

With R&D expenditures of $6.5 billion in 2004, North Carolina ranked 14th nationwide.³

Between 1999 and 2005, North Carolina’s federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards more than doubled (from 56 to 106), and dollar awards have tripled (from $14.0 million to $41.4 million). 53 of the 106 SBIR award winners for 2005 were SBTDC Clients (50%); for 2004, 66 of the 126 awardees were SBTDC clients (52%).⁴

SOURCES: 1) North Carolina's SBA District Office; 2) National Venture Capital Association Money Tree Report Q4 / Full-Year (2007); 3) Cyberstates 2007: A State-by-State Overview of the High-Technology Industry (American Electronics Association, 2007); 4) Site Selection magazine (Conway Data, Inc., November 2006)