Contact: Vincent M. Perez (202) 225-4831

CENSUS RANKS EL PASO #1 IN THE NATION FOR THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF HISPANIC-OWNED BUSINESSES
Hispanic-owned businesses in the U.S. increase at more than double the national rate

**Reyes speaks at a special ceremony with NASA Astronaut Dr. Danny Olivas at the National Border Patrol Museum in El Paso

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Washington, Sep 29 - In a recent survey released by the U.S. Census Bureau, El Paso was ranked #1 in the nation for having the highest percentage of Hispanic-owned businesses.  The information was included in the Census' Survey of Business Owners: Hispanic-Owned Businesses: 2007, which provides detailed information every five years for Hispanic-owned businesses, such as the number of firms, sales and receipts, number of paid employees and annual payroll.  According to the survey, nearly 60 percent of all businesses in El Paso were Hispanic-owned, followed by San Antonio (39.4 percent), Houston (23.3 percent), Albuquerque (23.1 percent), and Los Angeles (21 percent).

"Expanding opportunities for our small businesses is key to creating more jobs in the local economy," Congressman Reyes said.  "Over the years we have been very successful in bringing new resources to El Paso that give small business owners the help they need to start up and expand."

Increasing opportunities for El Paso small businesses has been one of Congressman Reyes' top priorities since arriving to Congress.  Recently, in 2008, Congressman Reyes secured a new El Paso-based Procurement Center Representative (PCR) from the Small Business Administration (SBA) to help local small businesses compete for federal contracts.  This procurement representative is an invaluable resource for small businesses trying to navigate through the federal government contracting process.  Previously, local small business owners had to rely on the PCR based in Albuquerque for help.

In addition, Congressman Silvestre Reyes has worked with the El Paso Small Business Administration (SBA) District Office, to host a small business lending fair, bringing together lenders and small business resource partners, such as the Small Business Development Center, Procurement Technical Assistance Center, and other partners in the El Paso Small Business Consortium to provide greater access to capital for local small businesses.  More than 100 small business owners attend this annual event.

Every year, Congressman Reyes also works with the El Paso Community College's Contract Opportunities Center and the El Paso Small Business Consortium to organize the Annual Veterans Business Conference to expand lending and contract opportunities for current and potential veteran-owned businesses.  Nearly 300 individuals participated in the most recent conference on August 9.  At the invitation of Congressman Reyes, U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner gave the keynote address at the event.

This week, the President signed into law the Small Business Jobs Act, an important bill specifically designed to boost small businesses and promote economic recovery.  The law creates a lending fund to help community banks give small businesses access to the capital they need to grow and hire new workers.  The law also includes $12 billion in small business tax cuts and funds to help small businesses increase exports of American products to global markets.  Due to fiscally responsible PAYGO rules enacted by Congress, the cost of the Small Business Jobs Act is fully paid and does not add to the deficit.

From the Report:

The number of Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States increased by 43.7 percent to 2.3 million, more than twice the national rate of 18 percent between 2002 and 2007, according to the report.

Nationally, Hispanic-owned businesses generated $345.2 billion in sales in 2007, up 55.5 percent compared with 2002. The number of Hispanic-owned businesses with receipts of $1 million or more increased 51.6 percent — from 29,168 to 44,206 businesses between 2002 and 2007.

About 45.8 percent of all Hispanic-owned businesses in the nation were owned by people of Mexican origin.

Statistics are shown for non-Hispanic businesses, for businesses that are equally (50 percent/ 50 percent) owned by both Hispanics and non-Hispanics, and for four Hispanic subgroups — businesses owned by people of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican or other Hispanic origin.

Data are presented by geographic area (including county, city and metro area), industry and size of business. Preliminary national and state data were released in July.

Hispanic-owned businesses comprised 23.6 percent of all businesses in New Mexico, highest among all states, followed by Florida (22.4 percent), Texas (20.7 percent), California (16.5 percent) and Arizona (10.7 percent).

Among counties with a 2007 population of more than 500,000 people, Hispanic-owned businesses comprised 68.7 percent of all businesses in Hidalgo, Texas, the highest in the nation, followed by El Paso, Texas (61.4 percent), Miami-Dade, Fla. (60.5 percent), Bronx, N.Y. (37.6 percent) and Bexar, Texas (37.3 percent).

Among cities with a 2007 population of more than 500,000 people, Hispanic-owned businesses comprised 59.8 percent of all businesses in El Paso, the highest in the nation, followed by San Antonio, Texas (39.4 percent), Houston (23.3 percent), Albuquerque, N.M. (23.1 percent) and Los Angeles (21.0 percent).

Other highlights:

•In 2007, businesses owned by people of Mexican origin accounted for 45.8 percent of Hispanic-owned businesses; Cuban origin accounted for 11.1 percent, Puerto Rican-owned businesses accounted for 6.9 percent, and businesses owned by other people of Hispanic origin accounted for 34.5 percent.

•The number of businesses owned by people of Mexican origin increased by 47.7 percent between 2002 and 2007; the number of Puerto Rican-owned businesses increased by 43.0 percent, the number of Cuban-owned businesses increased by 65.5 percent, and the number of other Hispanic-owned businesses increased by 30.6 percent.

•Of the 2.3 million Hispanic-owned businesses, 249,168 had paid employees, an increase of 24.9 percent from 2002. These employer businesses employed 1.9 million people, an increase of 25.7 percent from 2002, and their payrolls totaled $54.6 billion, an increase of 48.7 percent. Receipts of Hispanic-owned employer businesses totaled $274.5 billion, an increase of 52.9 percent.

•Of the 2.3 million Hispanic-owned businesses, 2.0 million had no paid employees, an increase of 46.4 percent. These nonemployer businesses' receipts totaled $70.7 billion, an increase of 66.6 percent.

•The number of Hispanic-owned businesses with 100 or more employees increased by 26.4 percent from 1,508 to 1,906. These businesses generated $74.2 billion in revenues, an increase of 76.6 percent from 2002.

•Nearly one-third (30.0 percent) of Hispanic-owned businesses operated in the construction, repair and maintenance, and personal and laundry services industries.

•Wholesale trade, construction and retail trade accounted for 50.8 percent of Hispanic-owned business revenue.
 
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