Small businesses employ 62.3 million people, accounting for 45.9% of the U.S. private-sector workforce. In practical terms, just under half of private-sector employees work for a small business.
| Measure | Latest published figure |
|---|---|
| Small-business employment | 62.3 million |
| Share of private-sector workers | 45.9% |
| Share of private-sector payroll | 38.7% |
| Employment growth, 1998–2022 | 13.1% |
Nearly every firm is small, but most do not have employees
Small businesses represent 99.9% of U.S. firms, yet they employ 45.9% of private-sector workers. The difference is explained largely by the shape of the business population: 82.3% of small businesses are nonemployer firms with no paid employees.
The businesses that do have payroll range from very small local employers to companies with hundreds of workers. For its broad research statistics, the SBA generally defines a small business as an independent firm with fewer than 500 employees, although formal size standards vary by industry and program.
Small businesses account for 38.7% of private-sector payroll, a smaller share than their 45.9% share of employment. Payroll measures compensation while employment measures headcount, so the two shares need not match.
Small-business employment has grown
Small-business employment increased 13.1% between 1998 and 2022, according to the SBA Office of Advocacy.
Over a longer period, small businesses also accounted for most net private-sector job creation. From January 1995 through December 2024, they generated 20.7 million net new jobs, compared with 13.2 million at large businesses. Small businesses therefore produced 61% of net private-sector job growth during the period.
“Net” is important here: the measure subtracts jobs lost through contractions and closures from those added through expansions and business openings.
Recent gains were spread across firm sizes
The Bureau of Labor Statistics found positive net employment change across its reported firm-size groups in the fourth quarter of 2025:
- Firms with 1–49 employees added a net 194,000 jobs.
- Firms with 50–249 employees added a net 138,000 jobs.
- Firms with 250 or more employees added a net 126,000 jobs.
These BLS size groups do not align exactly with the SBA definition or directly update the 62.3 million total. They show that recent net job growth was spread across businesses of different sizes.
About the estimate
The 62.3 million figure is the latest national estimate published by the SBA Office of Advocacy and refers specifically to private-sector employment. The underlying government datasets are released on different schedules, so the estimate is not a real-time 2026 payroll count.