Florida first in women-owned businesses; more than 25,000 in Bradenton-Sarasota-North Port

Florida ranked No. 1 in the nation for the growth of women-owned businesses, according to a new report.

The Bradenton-Sarasota-North Port area's 25,133 women-owned firms employ 15,282 people, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

The area's employment trends in these firms also reflect the same trend found at women-owned firms based in Miami-Fort Lauderdale: 88 percent of the Bradenton-Sarasota-North Port firms do not have paid employees.

The Miami metropolitan area led the state in growth as well, and the Miami area ranked No. 3 in the nation for the number of women-owned firms.

The vast majority of these businesses have no employees.

Nearly half of the state's total of women-owned businesses are in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro area, according to the 2016 State of Women-Owned Businesses report. In 2016, an estimated 453,100 firms employed 184,100 people, suggesting that the vast majority of these firms are one-woman companies or employ solely contractors.

In recent years, a number of small business and entrepreneurial organizations, including the Small Business Administration and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses, have launched programs in South Florida to help these businesses grow.

The report, commissioned by American Express OPEN, found that Florida has an estimated 971,000 women-owned firms, employing 500,000 workers.

Florida is the fast-growing state in growth of the number of firms (67.1 percent growth) over the past nine years and No. 31 for its 25.2 percent in growth of firm revenue between 2007 and 2016, the study found.

Nationally, the number of women-owned firms increased by 42 percent to 11.3 million enterprises, compared with just a 9 percent increase among all businesses since 2007.

These businesses employ nearly 9 million people and are generating $1.6 trillion in revenue.

Over the past nine years, the number of women-owned firms has grown at a rate five times faster than the national average.

"We are pleased to see the continued rise of the vital role that women-owned businesses play in our country's post-recession recovery," said Susan Sobbott, president of American Express Global Commercial Payments. "We are inspired by these women who are continuing to pursue their entrepreneurial passions, and are strengthening our communities and economy even further."

Among women-owned firms nationally, one of the fastest-growing sectors are businesses owned by women of color.

Over the past nine years, the number of firms they owned increased by 126 percent. In addition, the nearly 5 million businesses owned by women of color make up almost half of all women-owned firms.

When comparing the growth in the

number of firms owned by women of color with women-owned firms overall, nearly eight in 10 of the net new women-owned firms were started by a woman of color since 2007, the report found. The sixth annual State of Women-Owned Businesses report is based on historical and current U.S. Census Bureau and Gross Domestic Product data.

-- Herald business reporter Janelle O'Dea contributed to this report. She can be reached at jodea@bradenton.com.

This story was originally published April 10, 2016 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Florida first in women-owned businesses; more than 25,000 in Bradenton-Sarasota-North Port ."