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The 2021 Worker Cooperative State of the Sector is here, covering two years of cooperative business progress. This report on worker-owned business in the United States draws upon the latest developments in the field and deepens our understanding of the sector at a critical moment for worker-ownership. The report includes data on COVID’s impact on worker cooperatives, an updated map of metro areas home to worker cooperatives, along with a breakdown of business number totals in the top nine states and Puerto Rico. Altogether, the 612 businesses identified in the census reflect sector growth of more than 30% in two years.
Here are just some highlights from our findings related to the impact of COVID-19 on worker co-ops:
- During the pandemic, worker co-ops prioritized supporting their community & other cooperatives. 73% offered discounts or resources to meet community needs, 60% offered discounts or resources to another cooperative and 61% worked with local or regional mutual aid networks to meet a community need in 2021
- In 2021, the Worker Co-op experience may have offered some resilience to majority Black, Indigenous and People of Color-led firms compared to the effects seen on conventional Black-owned businesses
- While all types of small businesses suffered during the pandemic, only 20% of worker cooperatives surveyed lost over half of their revenue, compared to 28% of all small businesses who lost over half of their revenue in 2021
Click here to download the complete report
More takeaways from this report were shared during our 2021 Worker Co-op Week convening – you can watch the State of the Sector presentation here!
The 2021 Worker Cooperative State of the Sector is a co-production of the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives and the Democracy at Work Institute.
