The number of minority-owned companies with employees grew by almost 5 percent in 2015, according to a newly released survey from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The 2015 Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs, released this month, shows there were 996,248 minority-owned “employer” firms in 2015. And they were employing more people, too – 8 million workers, up 6.2 percent.

Their receipts were up, but were “not statistically different” from the prior year. In 2015, minority-owned firms made about $1,168.5 billion compared to $1,089.7 billion in 2014.

The number of women-owned employer firms, meanwhile, grew 3 percent from 2014 to 2015. Their receipts were not significantly different from 2014.

The Census Bureau worked on the Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs with the Kauffman Foundation and the Minority Business Development Agency.

California had more minority-owned and women-owned employer firms than any other state. About 22.9 of the United States’ minority employer firms are based in the Golden State. Almost 13 percent of women-owned firms were in California.

Veteran-owned employer firms took a step back in the latest report. There were 1.7 percent fewer such companies in 2015 compared to 2014

Other findings of note:

• People of Asian descent accounted for 53.2 percent of all minority-owned employer firms.
• About 14 percent of African-American-owned employer firms had been in operation less than two years. Among all employer firms, not quite 9 percent had been in business less than two years.
• One of the biggest industries for minority ownership was accommodations and food services – 17.6 percent of minority-owned firms were in this field. More than a third of employer firms in this sector were minority-owned.
• About 25 percent of employer firms in the field of educational services, health care, social assistance and other services were women-owned.
• Almost 56 percent of Hawaii’s employer businesses were minority-owned, followed by California with 32.6 percent.