According to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency, the number of Hispanic-owned businesses increased nearly 44 percent to 2.3 million between 2002 and 2007, more than twice the national average of all U.S. businesses. The total number of U.S. businesses during the same period increased 18 percent to 27.1 million. But if parity were reached, there would be 3.4 million Hispanic-owned firms generating $1.4 trillion in gross receipts and employing 7.5 million workers.