Number of Women-Owned Businesses Increased Nearly 3,000% since 1972, According to New Research

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Women started an average of 1,821 new businesses per day in the U.S. between 2017 and 2018, according to analysis in the 2018 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, commissioned by American Express (NYSE:AXP). This level of new business formation by women is greater than the daily average during the pre-recession period from 2002 to 2007 (714), the recession and recovery period between 2007 and 2012 (1,143), and the post-recession period between 2012 and 2017 (952).

New this year, the report explores data back to 1972 – the first time the U.S. Census Bureau provided data on minority-owned and women-owned businesses. The analysis shows that over 48 years the number of women-owned businesses increased a dramatic 31 times from 402,000 to 12.3 million in 2018. During that time, employment for these firms grew 40-fold from 230,000 to 9.2 million, and revenues rose from $8.1 billion to $1.8 trillion-- 217 times greater.

“This new data demonstrates not only the remarkable impact women entrepreneurs have on our economy when it comes to creating jobs and generating revenue, but also the growing role of women-owned businesses in our communities,” said Julie Tomich, SVP, American Express Global Commercial Services. “Over the past 11 years, we’ve seen women’s entrepreneurship and economic impact increase – especially among the growing number of women-owned companies that generate more than $1 million in revenue.”

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