unpaid) helping them with their creative business. Etsy sellers who focus on their creative business full-time and have help are more likely to have paid help with their shops (40% compared to 7% overall). The number of Etsy microbusinesses creating jobs is expected to grow, as 10% of Etsy sellers would like to hire additional paid staff in the next two years. Creative microbusinesses are supporting manufacturing as well. More than one in five Etsy sellers used outside help to produce their items. These Etsy sellers are supporting production partners, 75% of whom were small operators.13 The majority (58%) of Etsy sellers promote or sell their goods in other venues, including in-person events like craft fairs and flea markets, trade shows, retail stores, and to friends and family. Seventeen percent of these sellers sell their wares through wholesale partners, infusing local flavor into larger channels. Only 4% of Etsy sellers currently sell their goods in a brick-and- mortar store they own or operate, but 20% of sellers hope to do so in the next five years. 99.9% Etsy sellers are contributing to sustainable local economies, from small of all US counties towns to big cities, and have started and grown their businesses in 99.9% have Etsy sellers of all US counties. This is important, considering most of the net national increase in business establishments after the most recent recession stemmed from only 20 counties across the country—not surprisingly, from urban tech hubs like Los Angeles, Brooklyn, and Austin.14 In fact, less than a quarter of Etsy sellers are located in urban centers, with 28% running their business from a rural area and 48% from a suburban town. This geographic diversity is a strength for local economic development. In the aftermath of the recession, three out of five counties saw more businesses close than open,15 but creative entrepreneurs have continued to open Etsy shops. The economic impact generated by U.S. Etsy sellers reverberates beyond the United States, as 44% of Etsy sellers are international exporters. More than half (55%) of U.S. sellers who focus on their creative business as their sole occupation ship their wares internationally. In doing so, the economic impact of these Etsy sellers contributes to the global economy. 8 2017 Seller Census Report