Immigrants Outpacing Native-born Americans in Entrepreneurial Activity

When John Sibley Butler from IC2 in Austin spoke at InnoVenture 2006, he discussed how entrepreneurs are often people outside the power structure who do what they do because they have to. In particular, he noted how many entreprenuerial companies were started by immigrants.

The latest assessment of entrepreneurial activity by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation provides startling numbers for yet another year. The study found that an average of 465,000 people created new businesses each month in 2006. Asians, Latinos and immigrants far outpaced native-born Americans in entrepreneurial activity. African Americans experienced a decline. The report also contains data on activity at the state level. The five states with the highest rates of entrepreneurial activity included three of the Southern Growth states: Montana, Mississippi, Georgia, Oklahoma and Maine. See the report and data sets at http://www.kauffman.org/items.cfm?itemID=861.