Businesses owned by minorities, women boomed before recession, census says: ... In the years preceding the recession, the ranks of minority and female entrepreneurs exploded, according to census statistics released Tuesday. By 2007, minorities owned one in five small U.S. businesses, and women owned almost one in three.The number of U.S. companies increased 18 percent between 2002 and 2007, from 23 million to 27 million -- and minority-owned businesses showed outsize gains. Black firms rose by 60 percent. There was a 44 percent jump in Hispanic-owned businesses, and a 41 percent increase for Asian-owned firms. Firms run by whites, in contrast, rose just 13 percent, although they still account for 83 percent of all small companies.
The largest numerical increase in the five-year span was in businesses owned by women, up 1.3 million, to a total of 7.8 million. That represented a 20 percent increase.
But even as the statistics were released, they were eclipsed by the recession that started in December 2007, leading economists to wonder whether the downturn will reverse much of the progress.
