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March 7, 2013

Small business, big impact

The Norman Transcript

NORMAN — Oklahoma economic developers usually have their eyes on big-name employers who make a splash when they land. Boeing, Dell and Bass Pro get the headlines. But it’s the small businesses that make the biggest impact on Oklahoma’s economy.

A new report from the Small Business Administation says all of the net new jobs in Oklahoma from 2007 to 2010 were created by businesses with fewer than 500 employees.

The Tulsa World reports that in 2010, the state had 332,998 small businesses that employed 673,373 Oklahomans. Most of those employers work with companies with 20 to 499 employees.

The SBA says small businesses are responsible for 54.3 percent of private-sector jobs within Oklahoma compared to 49.1 percent for the nation, The World reports.

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