{
  "id": "F-28",
  "url": "https://evy.so/facts/small-companies-share-of-economy/",
  "chapter": "Small Teams",
  "question": "How much of the economy do small companies make up?",
  "answer": "Companies with fewer than 50 people are 96 to 99 percent of all businesses in the US, EU and UK. They employ about a quarter of US employer-firm workers (26 percent) and nearly half of people working in the EU and UK business economy (47 to 48 percent, counting the self-employed).",
  "range": {
    "low": 96.1,
    "high": 99.3,
    "unit": "% of businesses with fewer than 50 employees",
    "display": "96–99% of businesses have fewer than 50 people; they employ 26% (US) to 48% (EU) of workers"
  },
  "confidence": "high",
  "confidence_reason": "Four official sources built from business registers agree closely on the share of firms. Employment shares differ widely, but the reasons are known: whether the self-employed and one-person firms are counted, and different size cutoffs.",
  "last_checked": "2026-10-14",
  "how_to_read": "Definitions decide the answer. The US Census count covers only firms with paid employees; the EU and UK figures include self-employed owners and one-person firms. That is why the employment share of firms under 50 runs from 26% (US employer firms) to 47 to 48% (UK and EU). The common claim that small businesses employ half of US workers uses the official US definition of small: fewer than 500 employees.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "creator": "US Census Bureau (Statistics of US Businesses)",
      "title": "2022 SUSB Annual Data Tables by Enterprise Employment Size",
      "year": 2025,
      "sample": "All 6.4 million US employer firms, 2022 (released April 2025, the latest year)",
      "method": "Official counts from the Business Register; firms with no employees are excluded. Shares are our arithmetic from the size rows.",
      "figure": "Firms under 50 employees: 96.1% of employer firms, 25.6% of their employment (34.8 million people); under 10 employees: 79.2% of firms",
      "url": "https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2022/econ/susb/2022-susb-annual.html"
    },
    {
      "creator": "US Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy",
      "title": "Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business (February 2026)",
      "year": 2026,
      "sample": "All US firms including 29.8 million businesses with no employees, 2022 data",
      "method": "Official compilation. Defines small business as fewer than 500 employees; the under-50 share is our arithmetic.",
      "figure": "Firms under 500 employees: 99.9% of all firms and 45.9% of private-sector employees; including firms with no employees, firms under 50 are about 99.3% of all firms",
      "url": "https://advocacy.sba.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/FINAL_FAQsAboutSmallBusiness_2026_012826.pdf",
      "quote": "45.9% of private sector employees (62.3 million workers)"
    },
    {
      "creator": "Eurostat (Structural Business Statistics)",
      "title": "Enterprise statistics by size class (dataset sbs_sc_ovw)",
      "year": 2026,
      "sample": "All 33 million active enterprises in the EU business economy, 2023",
      "method": "Official statistics from business registers. Persons employed include working owners. Excludes agriculture and the public sector.",
      "figure": "Enterprises under 50 persons employed: 99.1% of enterprises, 48.3% of persons employed, 34.9% of value added",
      "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_sc_ovw/default/table"
    },
    {
      "creator": "UK Department for Business and Trade",
      "title": "Business population estimates for the UK and regions 2025",
      "year": 2025,
      "sample": "All 5.7 million UK private-sector businesses, start of 2025",
      "method": "Official statistics in development; includes sole proprietors and partnerships without employees",
      "figure": "Businesses with 0 to 49 employees: 99.2% of businesses, 47% of employment, 34% of turnover; 75% of all businesses have no employees",
      "url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/business-population-estimates-2025/business-population-estimates-for-the-uk-and-regions-2025-statistical-release",
      "quote": "there were 5.64 million small businesses (with 0 to 49 employees), 99.18%"
    }
  ],
  "related_findings": [
    {
      "question": "How much do small companies produce?",
      "answer": "EU firms under 50 people produce 35% of the business economy's value added (2023), and UK businesses under 50 account for 34% of turnover (2025). Using the US definition of small business (under 500 employees), small firms produce 43.5% of US GDP, according to the SBA.",
      "sources": []
    }
  ],
  "numbers_you_may_have_seen": [
    {
      "claim": "Small businesses employ half of all American workers.",
      "what_the_source_says": "Firms under 500 employees employ 45.9% of private-sector workers (2022). Firms under 50 employees employ 25.6% of employer-firm workers."
    },
    {
      "claim": "99.9% of US businesses are small.",
      "what_the_source_says": "It counts firms under 500 employees and includes 29.8 million businesses with no employees. Among firms with employees, 96.1% have fewer than 50."
    },
    {
      "claim": "SMEs provide 60% of jobs.",
      "what_the_source_says": "That counts firms with up to 249 employees. For companies under 50 people it is about 26% (US employer firms) to 47 to 48% (UK, EU)."
    }
  ],
  "citation": "EVY (2026). How much of the economy do small companies make up? The AI at Work Fact Book, F-28. https://evy.so/facts/small-companies-share-of-economy/ (last checked October 14, 2026). CC BY 4.0.",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0"
}