Study Finds Rise in Number of Lationo Firms

The number of Latino-owned companies increased 80.5% between 1982 and 1987, while their receipts jumped 110.3% to $24.7 billion, the Census Bureau said Wednesday.

The bureau said there were 422,373 Latino-owned businesses in 1987.

California had the largest number of firms--132,212--and receipts--$8.1 billion. The state accounted for 31.3% of all Latino-owned firms nationally and 32.8% of receipts.

The number of all companies in the United States rose 14% in the same period--to 13.7 million from 12 million.

Latino-owned companies accounted for 3% of all firms and generated 1% of gross receipts.

The report is part of an ongoing survey by the Census Bureau of minority-owned businesses.

The survey said 94% of Latino firms were owned by individuals. They accounted for 61% of the $24.7 billion in gross receipts.

Partnerships accounted for 3% of Latino-owned companies and 9% of gross receipts.

Small corporations accounted for 3% of Latino-owned firms but had 29% of gross receipts.

The largest number of Latino-owned firms--43.7%--were concentrated in service industries, but they accounted for just about a quarter of gross receipts. The next largest concentration was in retail trade, with 16.6% of the firms and 30.9% of the receipts.

The report said there were 129 companies with 100 or more employees, and those firms accounted for $1.2 billion in gross receipts.

Texas had the second-largest number of firms, 94,754, but ranked third in receipts with $4.1 billion, or 16.6%.