Small businesses employ about half of the U. S. workforce, according to latest figures from the Small Business Administration.

Of some 116.3 million nonfarm private sector workers in 2005, small firms with fewer than 500 workers employed 58.6 million and large firms employed 57.7 million. Firms with fewer than 20 employees employed 21.3 million.

Small firms create 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs. There are some 27.2 million businesses in the United States of which only about 17,000 are large businesses with more than 500 employees (2007 figures).

For more information on the importance of small businesses to the nation's economy, go to the SBA site, www.sba.gov/advo.

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