America's 5000 fastest-growing private companies announced. The list is the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy - America's independent-minded entrepreneurs. Taken as a whole, these companies represent the backbone of the U.S. economy.

"Our second annual Inc. 5000 continues the most ambitious project in business journalism," said Inc. 5000 Project Manager Jim Melloan. "The Inc. 5000 gives an unrivalled portrait of young, underreported companies across all industries doing fascinating things with cutting-edge business models, as well as older companies that are still showing impressive growth."

The 5000 companies that made the list reported aggregate revenue of $185 billion and median three-year growth of 147 percent. Most important, the 2008 Inc. 5000 companies were engines of job growth, having created more than 826,033 jobs since those companies were founded.

Hottest Regions for Fastest-Growing Companies

The New York metro area tops the Inc. 5000 list with the most companies of any city with 355. Washington, D.C. comes in a close second with 300 companies on the list; Los Angeles comes in third with 244 companies, and Atlanta (194 companies) and Chicago (189 companies) round out the top five. Interestingly, only 62 companies on the Inc. 5000 are not based in metropolitan areas.

Hottest Industries for Fastest-Growing Businesses

The largest business category is IT Services, with 579 Inc. 5000 companies. Business Services (532 companies), Construction (459), Manufacturing (405), and Advertising & Marketing (361) complete the top five industries ranked on the 2008 Inc. 5000.