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Business Owners and the Self-Employed: 33 Million (and Counting!)

Author

Listed:
  • Christopher Goetz
  • Henry Hyatt
  • Zachary Kroff
  • Kristin Sandusky
  • Martha Stinson

Abstract

Entrepreneurs are known to be key drivers of economic growth, and the rise of online platforms and the broader “gig economy” has led self-employment to surge in recent decades. Yet the young and small businesses associated with this activity are often absent from economic data. In this paper, we explore a novel longitudinal dataset that covers the owners of tens of millions of the smallest businesses: those without employees. We produce three new sets of statistics on the rapidly growing set of nonemployer businesses. First, we measure transitions between self-employment and wage and salary jobs. Second, we describe nonemployer business entry and exit, as well as transitions between legal form (e.g., sole proprietorship to S corporation). Finally, we link owners to their nonemployer businesses and examine the dynamics of business ownership.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher Goetz & Henry Hyatt & Zachary Kroff & Kristin Sandusky & Martha Stinson, 2025. "Business Owners and the Self-Employed: 33 Million (and Counting!)," Working Papers 25-60, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    • Handle: RePEc:cen:wpaper:25-60
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    File URL: https://www2.census.gov/library/working-papers/2025/adrm/ces/CES-WP-25-60.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2025
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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure

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