California's smallest businesses - those without employees - were clobbered by the first two years of recession, a new Census Bureau report shows, with more than 80,000 ceasing operations and the survivors' annual incomes dropping by more than $20 billion.
The number of California's non-employee businesses hit a high mark of 2.76 million in 2007 but by 2009 had dropped by 82,878, the Census Bureau report, based on Internal Revenue Service data, found. Business receipts declined from $145 billion to $121 billion during the two-year period.
While small business took big hits throughout the nation during the same period, the impact on California was markedly heavier than on most states. It trailed only New York and Pennsylvania in the decline between 2008 and 2009, the Census Bureau said, while San Diego County suffered the second largest decline of any county, losing 2,829 small businesses in one year. New York County in New York saw the largest numerical decline.
Not surprisingly, the impact has been the heaviest on California businesses with direct roles in the real estate market meltdown, particularly real estate firms, which dropped by 47,000 from 2007 to 2009, and construction, down about 10,000.
Not all states suffered declines, however, with Texas adding 8,260 small firms between 2008 and 2009. The full report, with state-by-state interactive data, is available here.
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