CT Ranks 35th in Economic Clout of Women-Owned Businesses; Growth Rate Ranks 43rd

According to the latest State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, women-owned firms in the U.S. now make up 30 percent of all businesses -- and they're generating about $1.5 trillion in revenue, an increase of 79 percent since 1997.  Connecticut, however, ranks 43^rd in the nation in the percentage of growth, below the national average, at 42.1 percent.  The state also ranks 28^th in percentage of revenue growth of women-owned businesses, and 22^nd in the growth of employment levels in women-owned businesses.  Overall, Connecticut ranks 35^th in the nation in the combined "economic clout" ranking of women-owned businesses, considering growth in the number of firms, revenues and employment during the past two decades. The newly released report, looking back at the past two decades, found that women-owned firms are found in every state and in every industry:

• The number of women-owned firms in the U.S. continues to climb, and is now estimated to have surpassed 9.4 million enterprises—30 percent of all businesses in the country;
• Women-owned firms now employ over 7.9 million workers (excluding owners), providing one in seven jobs among privately-owned businesses.
• The fastest growing industry sector is educational services, which has seen a 67% increase in the number of women-owned firms since 2007 versus an overall 21% increase.

A study by American Express OPEN using U.S. Census data found the number of women-owned businesses has grown dramatically since 1997.  Since that year there have been an average of 608 net new women-owned firms launched each and every day across the nation—and the rate just over the past year stands at 887 per day. The number of women-owned firms is increasing at a rate 1.5 times the national average.

Connecticut has nearly 103,000 women-owned businesses employing 95,000 people and generating approximately $16.7 billion in sales, according to data outlined in the report.  

Nationally, the number of women-owned firms has increased by 74 percent since 1997. The states with the fastest growth in the number of women owned firms over the past 18 years are: Georgia (up 132%), Texas (116%), North Carolina (98%), North Dakota (89%) and New York (89%). The top ten states for women-owned firms, in terms of growth in number and economic clout, are North Dakota, Wyoming, D.C., Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Maryland, Texas, Utah and Hawaii.  The states at the bottom of the list are Iowa, Rhode Island, Maine, Vermont and Ohio.

In 1997, there were just under 1 million (929,445) firms owned by minority women, accounting for one in six (17%) women-owned firms.  That number has skyrocketed to an estimated 3,111,300 as of 2015, now comprising one in three (33%) women--‐owned firms. These 3.1 million multicultural women--‐owned firms employ 1.6 million workers in addition to the owner and generate an estimated $268 Billion in revenues.

The industries with the highest concentration of women-owned firms are healthcare and social assistance (53 percent of firms in this sector are women-owned, compared to a 30 percent share overall), educational services (45 percent), other services (42 percent), and administrative support and waste management services (37 percent).

In the mid-west, Illinois ranks 19th nationally with 68 percent growth in the number of female business owners over the last 18 years, while Indiana placed 45th nationwide with 37.7 percent growth (somewhat below Connecticut's ranking).  New Jersey ranked 25th for growth in the number of women-owned businesses, with a 58.3 percent growth rate between 1997 and 2015, and 40th for growth in revenue, at 58.2 percent.

The report also found that the number of minority women who own businesses has grown significantly. In 1997, minority women owned 17 percent of women-owned firms in the United States. Today, minority women own 33 percent of the nation's 9.4 million women-owned companies. African-American women own 1.3 million businesses and Latinas own 1.1 million companies.

The report points out that "the only bright spot in recent years with respect to privately-held company job growth has been among women-owned firms.  They have added an estimated 340,000 jobs since 2007.  Among men-owned and equally-owned firms, employment has declined over the past eight years."

The study also found that start-up activity among women is on the rise, as the daily rate of net new women-owned firms was 602 in 2011-12, 744 in 2012-13, 1,288 in 2013-14 and this past year was 887 net new women-owned firms per day - all higher than the overall 554 per day over the entire 2007-15 period, according to the report.

Among the 484 net new minority-owned firms per day last year were 223 African-American women-owned firms, 168 Latina-owned firms and 105 Asian American owned firms started each day in 2014.