From Consumer Spending to Wage Data for your Business Type; Free Government Data at Your Fingertips

You don't have to hire a team of researchers or subscribe to costly trade publications to access small business data and statistics. 
The government provides free access to numerous facts and figures. Here are just some of the popular resources to get you started. For even more topics, head over to the Business Data and Statistics guide on Business.gov.
 

Economic Statistics

• For a quick glance at small business statistics, start out with the Small Business Statistics and Research FAQs for information on how many small businesses open and close each year, the survival rate for new businesses, or the amount of jobs that small businesses create. These FAQs are reported by the SBA's Office of Advocacy.
• The Small Business Economy: A Report to the President 2009: This annual report, also released by the SBA's Office of Advocacy, takes a close look at small business' performance in the economy over the past year.
• For more timely information, check out the Census Bureau's monthly/quarterly Economic Indicators statistics (national only).

Consumer Spending 

• The Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) sheds light on the buying habits of American consumers, including data on their expenditures, income, and consumer unit (families and single consumers) characteristics. This data is compiled for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Employment Statistics

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provides wage data by region and occupation, with further breakdowns by state and metropolitan area.
• Monthly employment, hours, and earnings statistics are available on a statewide and industry basis.
• Statewide employment and unemployment profiles are provided courtesy of the BLS.
• Specific data on self-employed business owners is available at the U.S. Census Bureau's Non-employer Statistics.

Other popular statistics

• See the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)'s TaxStats for business tax statistics.
• E-Stats, the U.S. Census Bureau's Web site is devoted exclusively to measuring the electronic economy.
• Industry-specific trade data and analysis is available at the International Trade Association (ITA)'s Web site.