Supporting Small Business For Power and Economic Opportunity
In 2023, ArroyoWest engaged the LAEDC Institute for Applied Economics to partner on a research study to examine the potential of supporting small business workforce development as a means of promoting worker economic mobility, particularly for BIPOC Californians. The study was made possible through a grant received by ArroyoWest from the James Irvine Foundation.
In the collaborative effort led by ArroyoWest, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, Chaffey College, and the Latino Restaurant Association extensively studied the small business landscape in Los Angeles County to gauge its capacity in generating quality jobs and wealth for low-wage BIPOC workers.
LAEDC’s contribution to the study:
- Identifies a target set of small businesses in Los Angeles County, any independently owned and operated private-sector business having from 10 to 99 employees stratified across three employment bands;
- Explores the characteristics of our target set of small businesses, including size and sales volume;
- Determines the areas of Los Angeles County that show the highest levels of diversity among small business ownership;
- Identifies the specific industries associated with our target set of small businesses;
- Identifies the most promising industries to target for diverse small business ownership (10-99 employees) in Los Angeles County;
- Identifies 20 occupations in Los Angeles County that are among the fastest growing in number, pay above a living wage, are associated with our target industries, and do not require a college degree;
- Outlines a series of roundtable discussions focused on three broad topics regarding supporting small business workforce development; and
- Presents a number of recommendations regarding small business workforce development efforts to promote worker power and economic opportunity in Los Angeles.
Click the button below to link directly to LAEDC’s contribution to the study.
Additionally, ArroyoWest and our other partners examined the entrepreneur and low-wage worker community in the advanced manufacturing/logistics sector of San Bernardino County and assessed the Latino restaurant community.
To see the full comprehensive study produced by ArroyoWest, with all partner contributions, follow the link here: https://www.arroyowest.com/our-projects