Entrepreneurs and Their Communities: Part 1

A basic question community leaders may ask is "How many jobs and how much income do entrepreneurs contribute in their communities relative to individuals that work for a wage or salary?"  Unfortunately it is nearly impossible to answer this question with certainty because this information is not collected for entrepreneurs.  However, we can start to answer this question by looking at information on nonfarm proprietors and wage and salary employees collected by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (www.bea.gov).

Looking at these data for the state of Pennsylvania we find that:

• nonfarm proprietors represented nearly 20 out of every 100 full and part-time jobs in the state in 2010
• there was a 29% increase in the number of nonfarm proprietors between 2000 and 2010
• there was a 1% decrease in the number of wage and salary jobs between 2000 and 2010
• wage and salary income decreased by 33% between 2000 and 2010
• nonfarm proprietors' income increased by 9% between 2000 and 2010
• wage and salary income was 72% of earnings in 2010
• nonfarm proprietors' income was 11% or earnings in 2010

These data are available at the county level.  Email me (shuffy@psu.edu) and let me know if you are interested in receiving this data for your county.

Bill Shuffstall, Extension Educator

Economic and Community Development