A Census study shows Hispanic-owned businesses are growing at three times the national average.

The number of Hispanic-owned businesses grew 31 percent between 1997 and 2002—three times the national average for all businesses – according to a new report, Survey of Business Owners: Hispanic-Owned Firms: 2002, released last March 21 by the U.S. Census Bureau. The nearly 1.6 million Hispanic-owned businesses generated nearly $222 billion in revenue, up 19 percent from 1997. The report was finalized and issued last August.

At a news conference on March 21, Valerie Strang, survey statistician, gave an overview of the report’s findings and explained the data’s significance.

Back in July 2005, “estimates at the national level by kind of business and at the state level were made available [to the public>. Now, we not only have the final estimates at these same levels but much more detail on the kinds of businesses Hispanics own and the states, metropolitan areas, cities, and counties in which they are located, as well as the size of these businesses, in terms of both employment and receipts” she said.

The results of the 2002 Survey of Business Owners show that between 1997 and 2002, the number of Hispanic-owned firms grew by 31 percent, three times the national average for all businesses.

“There were nearly 1.6 million Hispanic-owned businesses across the U.S. in 2002. These businesses generated nearly $222 billion in revenue – that’s a 19 percent increase since 1997,” she added.

Ms. Strang went on to talk specifically about statistics for companies that are employer firms. “Thirteen percent of all Hispanic-owned firms (199,601) had at least one paid employee other than the owner in 2002 and employed more than 1.5 million people. Although the number of firms with paid employees went down by 6 percent since 1997, the number of employees increased by 11 percent, higher than the national average of 7 percent.”