Small firms:
? Represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms.
? Employ half of all private sector employees.
? Pay 44 percent of total U.S. private payroll.
? Generated 65 percent of net new jobs over the past 17 years.
? Create more than half of the nonfarm private GDP.
? Hire 43 percent of high tech workers ( scientists, engineers,
computer programmers, and others).
? Are 52 percent home-based and 2 percent franchises.
? Made up 97.5 percent of all identified exporters and produced 31
percent of export value in FY 2008.
? Produce 13 times more patents per employee than large patenting
firms.