Relative to major global markets, the U.S. has the largest concentration of middle market companies (55,700) and generates the highest amount of economic output among such companies, according to Hidden Impact: The Vital Role of Mid-Market Enterprises, the first survey of the global mid-market sector commissioned by HSBC and authored by Oxford Economics.

Among the 15 global economies tracked in the report, U.S. middle market companies directly contribute $1.7 trillion to the U.S. economy (13 percent of output) and support 16.5 million American jobs, approximately 13 percent of employment. The companies examined in the report have annual sales between $50 million and $500 million.

“Middle market companies (MMEs) clearly generate a large proportion of economic output in most countries and, even more importantly, are vital to the functioning of a dynamic economy like the U.S.” says Derrick Ragland, executive vice president and head of U.S. Middle Market Corporate Banking, HSBC Bank USA.

“They bring new innovations and products to the market and compete with large incumbents, increasing standards and competitiveness. Yet they can be considered the middle child of the global economy—too small to have influence, but too big to benefit from the interventions, incentives and support afforded to smaller businesses.”

When considered in aggregate (direct, indirect and induced effects), globally middle market companies sustain between 20 to nearly 40 percent of economic output in the market sector of the 15 countries studied.

With an estimated $1.8 trillion in sales, wholesale/retail serves as the largest contributor to national economic output, with business-services MMEs generating the second-largest overall economic contribution to the economy at $1.1 trillion, or about 5 percent of the total, the report said.

Manufacturing provides the third-largest contribution (2 percent) to U.S. economic output, while the remaining sectors of the economy—transport, storage, information and communication; construction; financial services; mining and utilities; accommodations and food; agriculture and fishing; and other services—are notably smaller, each representing less than 2 percent of U.S. national economic output.

“U.S. MMEs are at the heart of our economy and society,” says Ragland. “However, they reach a point where, having grown successfully for some time, they have to shake up the way they do things if they want to grow further. With the right kind of support, including understanding their characteristics, choices and challenges they face, they could make an even greater contribution to local, regional and national growth.”

China follows the U.S. with an estimated 40,200 MMEs that support 74 million jobs, or about 12 percent of employment.

The number of MMEs is even substantial in smaller economies, with proportionately large employment figures. For example, Singapore is estimated to have just more than 1,500 MMEs supporting more than 400,000 jobs; Poland has approximately 2,100 such firms sustaining 1.7 million jobs.

Globally, the estimated 161,800 middle market companies analyzed contribute $11.5 trillion to gross domestic product (GDP), employ around 169 million people, have combined sales of $16.6 trillion and generate $4.8 trillion in economic value, accounting for between 10 to 17 percent of economic activity in the respective countries included in the report.