More Blacks Working for Self

By Kenneth MallorySpecial to the NNPA from Afro Newspapers WASHINGTON (NNPA) – A new study, ”Self-Employed Business Ownership Rates in the United States: 1979-2003,” finds that self-employment rates among minorities have dramatically increased. ”This study provides definitive evidence for the growth trend we’ve seen in entrepreneurship over the years,” said Robert Hughes, president of the National Association for the Self-Employed. ”Particularly strong among women, Blacks and Latinos, these numbers help to better quantify the appeal of self-employment and the impact this segment of the small business population has on the economy.” Based on data obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the study, conducted by the national Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Advocacy, finds that from 1979-2003, incorporated and unincorporated business ownership rates rose by 37 percent for African-Americans, while 33 percent for women and 17 percent for Latino Americans. Self employment among Black men rose 59.9 percent from 1984-2003. Robert W. Fairlie, associate professor of economics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, conducted the study under contract with the SBA. ”What I’m hoping is that it [the study] will generate research to figure out what’s going on [and] what’s driving these trends,” said Fairlie in a telephone interview. Fairlie is unsure of what has led to the increase in self-employment among minorities. Although entrepreneurial trends are rising, African-Americans still face challenges becoming business owners. ”I’ve done a lot of work on the overall question of why business ownership rates are low among African-Americans. What the literature finds is that there are a few explanations that come out pretty strong. One is African-Americans have lower levels of initial capitol. That’s one thing that is definitely a barrier into business ownership,” said Fairlie. ”Another is that they’re [African-Americans] less likely to have family businesses, so they’re less likely to grow up in a family business, less likely to have parents that are business owners. Those things tend to be very important — sort of informal ways of getting human capital to start your own business. ”Lower levels of education on average, hold African-American business owners back a little bit. But that doesn’t seem to be that important, being a more minor factor.”