Georgia led the nation in the growth rate of the number of women-owned businesses over the past 14 years. But growth in revenue and employment at women-owned businesses here did not keep pace, according to a report using U.S. Census Bureau data.
The number of women-owned businesses in the state increased 97.5 percent from 1997 to 2011, according to the "State of Women-Owned Businesses Report" released last week. It was done for American Express OPEN, a payment card issuer for small businesses.
Georgia now has an estimated 287,500 women-owned businesses, ranking it sixth in the U.S., up from 10th in 1997 when it had 145,576.
Revenue at women-owned businesses grew, too, but only 66 percent during that time. That placed Georgia 18th among all states in revenue growth. Revenues for 2011 are estimated at $42 billion, up from $25 billion in 1997.
And employment at those firms grew just 21.5 percent for the period, to 231,600 in 2011 from 190,577 in 1997.
Georgia women-owned businesses were still ahead of the national revenue growth rate for women-owned businesses of 53.4 percent, and also ahead of the national employment growth rate for women-owned businesses of 8.1 percent for the period.
Julie Weeks, American Express OPEN's research adviser and president and CEO of Womenable, a women's business consulting firm, said Georgia's nation-leading growth rate could be attributed to its economy, which, she said, "has been going very well compared to other parts of the country. That's driving part of it."
The report said that while the number of women-owned companies nationally is growing at rates exceeding the average for all businesses, "they are not moving along the continuum" -- not continuing to get bigger.
The report is based on Census Bureau data obtained from the Survey of Business Owners, which is conducted every five years. Data from the last three surveys, in 1997, 2002 and 2007, were analyzed and extrapolated to 2011, factoring in economic changes. The report is intended to bridge the gap between the Census Bureau data releases.
Nationwide, there are 8.1 million women-owned firms, up 50 percent from 1997. The number of all businesses in the U.S. increased 34 percent in that period.
The fastest growth in the number of women-owned firms in recent years has been in: education services, including language schools, flight training, driving schools, cosmetology and computer skills training; administrative and waste services, including employment and travel agencies, janitorial and landscaping services; and construction.
The report said women-owned firms "continue to diversify in all industries ... with a lessening concentration in ‘traditional' industry sectors and growth in industries where there had been fewer women-owned firms." The number of retail trade businesses owned by women declined while construction businesses owned by women increased, for example.
The largest women business ownership sectors are: other services, including beauty salons and pet-sitting, dry cleaners and auto repair; and health care and social assistance, including doctors and dentists, residential care facilities and child care providers.
