Closing the Black employer gap

February 16, 2024

Person writes on whiteboard during a work meeting

In 2021, social movements for racial equity rallied many Americans to support Black-owned businesses. That year, the number of Black-owned employer businesses (businesses with more than one employee) increased by 14.3% from the prior year. Black-owned employer businesses also had notable increases in employees, revenue, and payroll.

But despite these gains, the overall share of Black-owned employer businesses remained disproportionately low relative to their share of the U.S. population. Even if Black business ownership continued growing at the rate it did in 2021, Black-owned businesses would still not reach parity with their population share for another 80 years.

In a new interactive report, Andre M. Perry, Manann Donoghoe, and Hannah Stephens share insights on Black-owned businesses throughout the United States, including which cities were most hospitable to Black business owners.

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💼 To hear more from Perry and other experts on empowering Black businesses, watch yesterday’s event.

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