WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration announced today that the federal government met its small business federal contracting goal for the fifth consecutive year awarding 23.88 percent in federal contract dollars to small businesses totaling $105.7 billion, an increase of $5 billion. This marks the first time more than $100 billion in prime contracts has been awarded to small businesses. The federal government earned an “A” on this year’s government-wide scorecard.

“I am happy to report that for the fifth consecutive year, the federal government has not only met and exceeded its small business contracting goal, but it has awarded $105 billion to small businesses for the first time earning the government an A on SBA’s scorecard for this remarkable achievement,” said SBA Administrator Linda McMahon. “This grade reflects significant efforts by federal agencies toward meeting the 23 percent statutory goal to award prime contracts to small businesses. Every contract that gets in the hands of a small business owner is a win-win for the business, creating jobs in their communities, and boosting the nation’s economy.”

The individual agency scorecards released today by the SBA, as well as a detailed explanation of the scorecard methodology, is available online: https://www.sba.gov/document/support--contracting-scorecard-grading-methodology.

In fiscal year 2017, the federal government exceeded the service-disabled veteran-owned small business and small disadvantaged business goals. Prime contract dollars in all categories increased. The prime contract goal achievements by dollars and percentages for all categories are as follows:

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Category Goal $(B) %SB $(B) %SB $(B) %SB $(B) %SB $(B) %SB Small Business 23% $83.1 23.4% $91.7 24.9% $90.7 25.7% $99.7 24.4% $105.7 23.8% Small Disadvantaged Business 5% $30.6 8.6% $34.7 9.5% $35.4 10.1% $39.1 9.4% $40.2 9.1% Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business 3% $12.0 3.4% $13.5 3.7% $13.8 3.9% $16.3 4.0% $17.9 4.1% Women Owned Small Business 5% $15.4 4.3% $17.2 4.7% $17.8 5.1% $19.7 4.8% $20.8 4.7% HUBZone 3% $6.2 1.8% $6.7 1.8% $6.4 1.8% $6.9 1.7% $7.3 1.7%

The federal government also exceeded its subcontract goals for awards to Women-Owned Small Business and Small Disadvantaged Businesses and awarded $75 billion in subcontracts to all small businesses. The fiscal year 2017 prime and subcontracting awards to small businesses equate to nearly one million jobs created to support the nation’s economy.

SBA continues to collaborate with federal agencies to expand small business opportunities for small business contractors to compete and win federal contracts. The FY2017 Small Business Procurement scorecard analyzed the prime contracting and subcontracting performance, and other contributing factors which resulted in an overall “A” grade for the federal government. Eight agencies received A+, 13received a grade of “A”, two received a “B” grade and one received a “C” grade.

About the Scorecard

The annual Procurement Scorecard is an assessment tool to (1) measure how well federal agencies reach their small business and socio-economic prime contracting and subcontracting goals, (2) provide accurate and transparent contracting data and (3) report agency-specific progress. The prime and subcontracting component goals include goals for small businesses, small businesses owned by women, small disadvantaged businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, and small businesses located in Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones).

Every year, the SBA works with each agency to set their prime and subcontracting goals and their performance is based on the agreed upon goals. Each federal agency has a different small business contracting goal, determined annually in consultation with the SBA. The SBA ensures that the sum total of all of the goals exceeds the 23 percent target for the federal government as well as the socio-economic goals established by law.

While each federal agency is responsible for ensuring the quality of its own contracting data, SBA conducts additional analyses to help agencies identify potential data anomalies. As part of its ongoing data quality efforts, the SBA works with federal agency procurement staff to provide analysis and tools to facilitate review of data, implement improvements to procurement systems and conduct training to improve accuracy.

The overall federal small business prime contracting performance released today by the SBA, as well as a detailed explanation of the calculations, is available online at http://go.usa.gov/Nxxd.

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About the U.S. Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start and grow their businesses. It delivers services to people through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.