Economic Downturn
The following is a demographic profile of Poll respondents and their businesses. It represents the consoldated answers of over 7,500 respondents to 10 surveys in the years 2004, 2005, and 2006. The data presented are weighted, just as they are throughout 411SmallBusinessFacts.com, in order to compensate for the stratified random samplng pattern. With exceptions of Volume 4, Issues 1 and 4, and Volume 5, Issues 1 and 2 which sampled different populations, these tables portray survey respondents in the series. The specific profile for each Poll can be obtained in its pdf.
1D. Which best describes your position in the business?
| Response | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Owner/Manager | 84 |
| 2 | Owner, but NOT manager | 6 |
| 3 | Manager, but NOT owner | 10 |
| Total (%) | 100 | |
| N | 7523 | |
Notes: Respondents must answer this question to be interviewed. As a result, there is not a DK/Refuse category. Interviewers ask to speak with the/an owner, though a sizeable minority are not present.
2D. Please tell me your age.
| Response | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | < 25 | 1 |
| 2 | 25 - 34 years | 7 |
| 3 | 35 - 44 years | 17 |
| 4 | 45 - 54 years | 32 |
| 5 | 55 - 64 years | 27 |
| 6 | 65+ years | 12 |
| 7 | Refuse | 3 |
| Total (%) | 100 | |
| N | 7523 | |
Notes: The data are collected in years, e.g., 47 years old, but are presented here in arbitrarily defined age categories.
3D. What is your highest level of formal education?
| Response | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Did not complete high school | 2 |
| 2 | High school diploma/GED | 20 |
| 3 | Some college or an associate's degree | 23 |
| 4 | Vocational or technical school degree | 3 |
| 5 | College diploma | 33 |
| 6 | Advanced or professional degree | 18 |
| 7 | DK/Refuse | 1 |
| Total (%) | 100 | |
| N | 7523 | |
Notes: The question addresses formal education level achieved rather than number of years.
4D. Sex
| Response | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Male | 82 |
| 2 | Female | 18 |
| Total (%) | 100 | |
| N | 7523 | |
Notes: Interviewers collect these data by voice recognition. As a result, there is neither a question nor a DK/Refuse category.
5D. How long have you owned or operated this business?
| Response | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | < 6 years | 24 |
| 2 | 6 - 10 years | 19 |
| 3 | 11 - 20 years | 26 |
| 4 | 21 - 30 years | 19 |
| 5 | 31+ years | 11 |
| 6 | DK/Refuse | 1 |
| Total (%) | 100 | |
| N | 7523 | |
Notes: The data are collected in years, e.g., 12 years, but are presented here in arbitrarily defined categories.
6D. Is this business operated primarily from the home, including any associated structures such as a garage or a barn?
| Response | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yes | 25 |
| 2 | No | 74 |
| 3 | DK/Refuse | 1 |
| Total (%) | 100 | |
| N | 7523 | |
Notes: The question purposefully makes the phenomenon as expansive as reasonable by including associated structures, but there is no evidence that this notably changes its frequency.
7D. How many people, full-time and part-time, does your business currently employ, NOT including yourself?
| Response | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 - 9 employees | 79 |
| 2 | 10 - 19 employees | 11 |
| 3 | 20 -250 employees | 10 |
| Total (%) | 100 | |
| N | 7523 | |
Notes: Respondents must answer this question and have at least one employee in addition to the owner(s), but not more than 250 employees, to be interviewed. As a result, there is not a DK/Refuse category. Additionally, the sampling procedure employed, i.e., stratified random, yields a pre-weighted sample of approximately 350, 200, and 200 cases by size category per survey.
D8. What is the zip code of your business?
| Response | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northeast (zips 010 - 219) | 17 |
| 2 | Southeast (zips 220 - 427) | 20 |
| 3 | Mid-West (zips 430 - 567, 600 - 658) | 24 |
| 4 | Central (zips 570 - 599, 660 - 898) | 24 |
| 5 | West (zips 900 - 998) | 14 |
| 6 | DK/Refuse | 1 |
| Total (%) | 100 | |
| N | 7523 | |
Notes: Business owners in Alaska and Hawaii are not part of the samples.
D9. Urban location
| Response | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Highly urban | 11 |
| 2 | Urban | 19 |
| 3 | Fringe urban | 19 |
| 4 | Small cities/Towns | 21 |
| 5 | Rural | 24 |
| 6 | Unclassifiable | 6 |
| Total (%) | 100 | |
| N | 7523 | |
Notes: All zip codes are classified by population density. Respondent businesses located in zip codes containing the 20 percent of people living in the most densely populated area are classified as highly urban and so on.
D10. Is your primary business activity _________? (NAICs coded)
| Response | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Agriculture (non-farm, ranch), foresty, fishing | 4 |
| 2 | Construction | 10 |
| 3 | Manufacturing, mining | 9 |
| 4 | Wholesale trade | 6 |
| 5 | Retail trade | 15 |
| 6 | Transportation/Warehousing | 3 |
| 7 | Information | 2 |
| 8 | Finance and insurance | 5 |
| 9 | Real estate and rental leasing | 4 |
| 10 | Professional, scientific, and technical services | 14 |
| 11 | Administrative support services/Waste management services | 3 |
| 12 | Education services | 1 |
| 13 | Health care and social assistance | 4 |
| 14 | Arts, entertainment, or recreation | 2 |
| 15 | Accommodations or food service | 6 |
| 16 | Others services (typically personal services and repair) | 10 |
| 17 | Other | 2 |
| 18 | DK/Refuse | 0 |
| Total (%) | 100 | |
| N | 7523 | |
Notes: The data for industry classification (NAICs codes) are now collected by asking the respondent if the industry classification assigned the business by the Dun & Bradstreet Corporation is correct. If the answer is positive, the business receives the Dun's code. If the answer is negative, the respondent describes the firm's activity and the interviewer assigns a code. NAICs codes were substituted for SIC codes beginning in Volume 3, Issue 1.
D11. Over the last two years, have your real volume sales: ?
| Response | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Increased by 30 percent or more | 15 |
| 2 | Increased by 20 - 29 percent | 13 |
| 3 | Increased by 10 - 19 percent | 25 |
| 4 | About the same | 27 |
| 5 | Decreased by 10 percent of more | 14 |
| 6 | DK/Refuse | 6 |
| Total (%) | 100 | |
| N | 7523 | |
Notes: The "about the same" category is now being broken into two - an increase of less than 10 percent and a decrease of the less than 10 percent.
