Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States totaled 1.2 million firms in 1997, employed over 1 million people and generated nearly $200 billion in revenues. Just under 4 in 10 of these firms were owned by people of Mexican origin. (See Figure 1.)

The number of Hispanic firms, excluding C corporations,¹ for which prior comparable data are not available, increased 30 percent from 1992 to 1997, compared with a 7 percent increase for all U.S. firms. Their receipts rose 49 percent over the same period, higher than the 40 percent increase for all firms.

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¹ C corporations are incorporated businesses, excluding subchapter S corporations whose shareholders elect to be taxed as individuals rather than as corporations.