For Release: February 3, 2009
SBA Number: 09-01 ADVO

Colorado's Economic Recovery Depends on Small Business
Updated Statistics Underscore the Importance of Small Business

            WASHINGTON, D.C. – Colorado's economic recovery will depend on small business.  That message is driven home in the newly updated Colorado Small Business Profile released today by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration.  The most recent data show that the state has 126,951 small employers, and they employ 51.7% of the state’s workforce.

             “Colorado depends on small business for jobs and economic growth,” said Shawne McGibbon, Acting Chief Counsel for Advocacy.  “During this time of financial stress and economic instability, policymakers need to remember that the state’s small businesses provide the economic base for its families and communities.”

             To further highlight the importance of small business, the updated profile notes that small businesses created 99.7% of the state's net new jobs from 2004 to 2005 (latest available data).

             Not only does the state’s economy depend on the health of its small businesses, so too does the economy of the United States.

             The U.S. has slightly more than 6 million small employers, or 99.7% of all employer firms, and they provide 50.4% of its private sector employment.  These firms created 78.9% of the nation’s net new jobs from 2004 to 2005, and they generated more than half of the private non-farm gross domestic product.

             The Office of Advocacy, the “small business watchdog” of the federal government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President.  It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats, and it funds research into small business issues.

             For more information and a complete copy of state and territory small business profiles, visit the Office of Advocacy website at www.sba.gov/advo.

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The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business within the federal government.  The presidentially appointed Chief Counsel for Advocacy advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policymakers.  For more information, visit www.sba.gov/advo, or call (202) 205-6533.

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Jim Henderson
Regional Advocate, Region VIII - Office of Advocacy
U.S. Small Business Administration
721 19th Street, Suite 400
Denver, CO 80201
(303) 844-0503 Phone   
(303) 844-0506 Fax
james.henderson@sba.gov
http://www.sba.gov/advo