Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Census data back Nevada's business-friendly reputation

Nevada's reputation as a business-friendly state got another boost Tuesday with the release of new Census Bureau data showing it had the highest growth rate for small "nonemployer" businesses in 2002.

The latest statistics showed that the number of small businesses with one or more bosses but no employees grew 3.9 percent nationwide, increasing from 17 million in 2001 to more than 17.6 million in 2002.

Nevada's growth rate for those kinds of small businesses, which include services such as landscaping and real estate agencies, was the highest in the nation, rising 7.9 percent to 128,073. That represents about 9,000 new businesses over the 2001 number, the bureau reported.

"That's an amazing figure because this city took a big hit after 9/11," said Cara Roberts, a spokeswoman for the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. "It is an indication of how strong Nevada is in encouraging and nurturing businesses to grow. The hard work of the state and the chamber is paying off."

Additionally, the bureau report showed that annual receipts from Nevada's nonemployer businesses rose 18 percent between 2001 and 2002, growing from $6.1 billion to $7.2 billion.

Nationwide, receipts from nonemployer businesses totaled $770 billion in 2002, a 5.5 percent increase from the previous year.

The small businesses included in the Census survey make up more than 70 percent of all businesses in the country and range from home-based businesses to construction contractors, the bureau stated.

Some of the biggest growth nationwide occurred in areas such as landscaping services, up 21.5 percent; janitorial services, up 20.44 percent; nail salons, up 8.7 percent; and the number of real estate agents, up 7.1 percent.

The bureau also reported that 60 percent of all nonemployer sales came from four sectors: real estate and rental and leasing accounted for 21 percent, or $161.8 billion; construction accounted for 15 percent, or $115.3 billion; professional, scientific and technical services amounted to 12.5 percent, or $96.4 billion; and retail trade made up 10.11 percent, or $77.9 billion.

The census report compiled data from 15.4 million individual proprietorships and more than 1.1 million corporations and 1.1 million partnerships.

NEW `NONEMPLOYER' BUSINESS GROWTH

	Businesses in 2002	Percent Increase	2002 receipts	Percent Increase
United States	17.6 million	3.9	$770.1 billion	5.5
Nevada	128,073	7.9	$7.2 billion	18
Georgia	523,818	6.3	$23.3 billion	5.7
Florida	1.2 million	6.3	$54 billion	7.3
Texas	1.4 million	5.2	$62.8 billion	3.8
Delaware	44,489	5.2	$2.2 billion	13.8

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau