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The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has designated April 23-27 as National Small Business Week. This week celebrates all entrepreneurs and encourages others who dream of starting their own businesses to take the first steps. Small businesses are the foundation of America’s economy, playing vital roles locally and nationally. Small business is booming in Texas: The nation’s 25 million small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all firms in America, according to the SBA. Approximately 2 million of these businesses are located in Texas. Texas’s small companies created nearly 140,000 net new jobs between 2002 and 2003. Nationwide, the SBA finds that small firms have created 60 to 80 percent of all new jobs annually during the past decade. Texas’s small businesses provide almost 4 million jobs statewide. The majority of small firms in Texas are in the construction, retail trade, health care and professional, scientific and technical services industries. As small businesses proliferate, they are fueling the growth of new services, including human resources (HR) outsourcing. Small business owners are using the expertise of HR outsourcing companies to help with tasks such as payroll processing, recruitment, employee benefits administration and assistance with regulatory compliance. Professional employer organizations (PEOs) are a popular choice for HR outsourcing. The PEO industry is growing by leaps and bounds and was recognized in the Harvard Business Review as “the fastest-growing business service in the United States during the 1990s.” Approximately 700 PEOs now operate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, generating $51 billion in gross revenues annually. Visit www.sba.gov for more information about National Small Business Week or how to start your own business.
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