It’s National Small Business Week! Beginning Sunday, April 28, this yearly event celebrates the contributions of American small businesses and their employees. After all, the U.S. has 33.3 million small businesses, which remarkably account for 99.9 percent of all businesses. Even though 80 percent of small businesses don’t have any employees, they still employ almost 46 percent of the U.S. workforce.
And California is no exception to the prevalence of small businesses. California has 4.1 million small businesses, which employ 7.5 million workers and comprise 99.8 percent of all California businesses. Between March 2021 and March 2023, 130,888 California small businesses opened while 91,314 closed. The top California small business industries are:
- Professional, scientific and technical services;
- Transportation and warehousing; and
- Real estate and rental and leasing.
More than two-thirds of the CalChamber’s members are small employers with 100 or fewer employees. The CalChamber has sponsored legislation to ease the regulatory burden on small businesses as well as joined a broad and growing coalition of more than 120 organizations and business — including small businesses — to reform California’s lawsuit-first Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), which is enriching lawyers at the expense of California workers, nonprofits, small business and other employers.
CalChamber understands the critical role small businesses play in our state and the nation, which is why we’re committed to advocating for policies that create a healthy business environment, fostering growth and opportunity for these essential contributors.
Here’s some resources for California small businesses:
- The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
- The California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA)
- California Small Business Development Centers
Mike McCluskey, Senior Technical Editor, CalChamber
CalChamber members can use the Laws That Apply to Your Organization chart, which helps you determine which labor laws apply to you based on the number of employees you have. Not a member? Learn how to power your business with a CalChamber membership.
