Does It Feel Crowded Out There?

A new study just released by the Kauffman Foundation finds that there are 500,000 new business start-ups in the US every month. If accurate, that means we are now seeing start-up rates of 6 million a year!
Here are additional highlights as reported by the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship:

Somewhat surprisingly, the study shows a relatively stable rate of entrepreneurship activity despite major changes in the national economy in the last decade. Based on data from the Census and the Bureau of Labor Statistics for 1996 – 2004, an average of 0.36 percent of the adult population created new businesses each month with the low mark of 0.33 percent in 1997 and a high of 0.40 percent in 2004.

Most of the recent increase is attributable to immigrant entrepreneurs. While illegal immigration is a very serious problem that needs serious solutions, this shows that many of today’s immigrants coming into the US are helping to improve our economy through their entrepreneurial activities.