Private equity continues to be a key booster of American workers and small businesses, providing 12 million people with reliable, good-paying jobs in 2022.

• According to a recent report from Ernst & Young LLP (EY) and the American Investment Council (AIC), the U.S. private equity sector directly employed 12 million workers earning $1 trillion in wages and benefits ($80,000 per person on average) in 2022.

• The U.S. private equity sector generated $1.7 trillion of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022, comprising approximately 6.5% of total U.S. GDP.

• Private equity primarily invests in small businesses. In 2022, 85% of all private equity-backed companies had 500 employees or less, and over 60% had fewer than 100 employees.

• In 2022, the median private equity-backed business employed 69 workers.

• Private equity supports critical sectors across the economy like manufacturing, where private equity-backed small businesses employed 265,000 workers in 2022.

Private equity firms and the companies they back – primarily small businesses – continue to drive job growth and competitive wages across the economy, as seen in new data from EY and the AIC.

The report details the U.S. private equity sector’s critical economic impact, including:

• Providing and supporting reliable, well-paying jobs. In 2022, the U.S. private equity sector directly employed 12 million workers earning $1 trillion in wages and benefits ($80,000 per person on average). Private equity’s larger reach into the economy indirectly created an employment impact of nearly 8 million workers earning $700 billion in wages and benefits in 2022, helping Americans across the country provide for themselves and their families.

• Believing and investing in small businesses. In 2022, the overwhelming majority of private equity-backed businesses – 85%! – were small businesses with 500 or fewer employees. Further, over 60% were small businesses with 100 or fewer employees. These private equity-backed small businesses directly employed 1.4 million workers – including 265,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs – earning $135 billion in wages and benefits and generating $240 billion of GDP in 2022.

From investing in women-owned businesses to helping biopharmaceutical pioneers bring lifesaving medicines to market, private equity has helped small business entrepreneurs across the country reach their full potential. Click HERE to learn more.

You can read the AIC’s release HERE and view the full report HERE.

The bottom line

Private equity investments support workers, build resilient small businesses, and generate economic growth across the United States.