WASHINGTON (AP) – More people are starting companies in the nation's biggest metropolitan areas, a sign that small business is continuing its slow recovery from the recession, according to a study by the Kauffman Foundation.
The foundation, which conducts research into entrepreneurship, said metro area entrepreneurial activity rose for the first time this year after six years of decline. Entrepreneurship remains below its levels of before the recession, which officially started in December 2007.
That assessment is in line with other measures like monthly hiring reports and periodic surveys of business owners' optimism that show companies are recovering slowly from the recession. The Kauffman report shows that people wanting to start businesses haven't plunged in with the vigor they did before the downturn.
The foundation found an increase in business ownership in 38 of 40 metropolitan areas, led by New York; Providence, Rhode Island; Boston; San Francisco; Portland, Oregon; Miami; Los Angeles; Pittsburgh; Minneapolis and Seattle. The largest amount of entrepreneurial activity was found in the Northeast and Midwest.
READY TO BECOME YOUR OWN BOSS?
People thinking about starting their own companies can find out what becoming an entrepreneur involves during an online seminar sponsored by SCORE, the organization that provides free counseling to small businesses.
"How to Become Your Own Boss" will be held Thursday, December 17, 2015, at 1:00 EST.
– by AP Reporter Joyce M. Rosenberg
