The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy recently released a new report detailing the job creation of small business over the last 15 year period. According to the report, small businesses created 65 percent of the net new jobs in the private sector, according to conservative estimates, despite the recent economic downturn.

The report, An Analysis of Small Business and Jobs, the Office of Advocacy notes that many of the new jobs are in new business startups, but an even larger share are in expanding firms of all sizes—particularly mid-sized firms with 20-499 employees.

 “More and more, we’re finding that both new startups and ongoing high-growth firms have important roles to play in the labor market,” said Acting Chief Counsel for Advocacy Susan M. Walthall. “Fast-growing firms scattered across the economy create a large share of jobs—and because no one can predict which idea will be the next to catch on, it’s important to create an environment in which a wide spectrum can start up and expand.”

The report is based on an analysis of the quarterly Bureau of Labor Statistics data which show that over the 15 years from 1993 to mid-2008, 31 percent of net job gains (jobs created minus jobs lost) came from the opening of new establishments. An even larger share—the remaining 69 percent—were from ongoing firms of all sizes that expanded.

Although prior to the economic downturn, NSBA analysis of the data showed small business with a higher proportion of job creation, Advocacy’s report included nearly a year of job-cuts in the small-business sector. Firms with fewer than 20 employees began losing jobs as early as the second quarter of 2007. From 2008 to the second quarter of 2009, these smallest firms accounted for 24 percent of the net job losses, while those with 20-499 employees accounted for 36 percent; the remaining 40 percent of job losses were in large firms with more than 500 employees.

Please click here for a complete copy of the report.