How important are small businesses to the U.S. economy?

"The Economic Impact of Small Business Most U.S. Businesses Are Small: • 80% (approximately 23.8 million) of the nearly 29.7 million businesses have no employees (businesses run by individuals or small groups of partners, such as married couples). • 89% (approximately 5.2 million) of the nearly 5.8 million businesses with employees have fewer than 20 employees. • 99.6% (approximately 5.7 million) of all businesses have 0–99 employees—98% have 0–20 workers. • Approximately 5.8 million businesses have fewer than 500 employees. • Only about 19,000 businesses in the United States have more than 500 employees. • Companies with fewer than 50 employees pay more than 20% of America’s payroll. • Companies with fewer than 500 employees pay more than 41% of America’s payroll. • 32.5 million people (1 employee in 4) work for businesses with fewer than 50 employees. • These businesses also pay tens of millions of owners, not included in employment statistics. Table 5.1 Source: “Firm Size Data: 2014,” https://www.sba.gov, accessed February 1, 2018. Chapter 5 Entrepreneurship: Starting and Managing Your Own Business 171"