African-Americans owned just 2.1 percent of the nation's companies in 2014, despite making up 12 percent of the population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But nearly half of those black-owned firms were launched in the past five years, The Wall Street Journal reports, suggesting the racial gap may begin to narrow in the coming years. Still, African-Americans' companies earn far less money than other firms.
Black-owned businesses tended to be smaller, representing less than 1 percent of the total sales, according to the survey. Sales at black-owned firms averaged $915,000, below the $2.38 million average for white-owned firms. Sales averaged $1.19 million for firms with Asian ownership and $1.12 million for firms owned by Hispanics. [The Wall Street Journal]
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