Employment Size

What makes a business a small business? One common definition from the US Small Business Administration classifies any business with fewer than 500 employees as a small business. The Small Business Credit Survey uses this small-business definition.

While businesses with fewer than 500 employees are often grouped together for research purposes, there are significant differences between, for example, a small mom-and-pop shop with five employees and a multi-site manufacturing business with 450. As such, data by firm employment size can be particularly helpful to understanding businesses’ unique challenges and financing needs.