Thursday, Jan 07 2010 06:55 PM
Statistics questioned
Where does community columnist Lou Gomez get his statistics? ("It's hard out there for small-business owners," Jan 4.) He claims that nearly 90 percent of all workers in California are employed by small businesses.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 18 million people, or 13 percent of the civilian labor force, work for federal, state and local governments.
Does this mean that no one works for big business? Does no one work for banks, department stores, oil companies? The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not separate jobs by the size of the employer. So who is coming up with such wild statistics?
ROBERT C. HARGREAVES
Bakersfield
