Entrepreneurship Statistics [MBA Facts]

You have probably heard that entrepreneurship has been on the rise since the great recession of 2008, but do you know how many new businesses are created each year or the challenges those businesses face? Read on to find the answers to those questions and more in the Entrepreneurship Statistics edition of MBA Friday Facts.

• An average of 543,000 new businesses were created each month in 2011. (Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity 2010-2011)

• Business creation decreased by 5.9% between 2010 and 2011, but was still 5% higher than the rate of business creation before the recession. (Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity 2010-2011)

• Between 2007-2009, the number of new small businesses with more than one employee decreased for almost all countries surveyed by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development. (OECD 2012 Entrepreneurship at a Glance)

• In 2010, the number of new businesses (those less than a year old) was the lowest it has ever been since the US Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking new businesses in 1994. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics)

• The most challenging problems facing small businesses in 2010 were slow or lost sales, and unpredictability of business conditions. (Kauffman Firm Survey, 2012)

• 40% of firms that sought credit in 2010 had at least some of their applications denied. The most common reasons for denial were bank restrictions on funding and insufficient collateral. (Kauffman Firm Survey, 2012)

• 20% of business owners surveyed by the Kauffman Foundation stated that they didn't even apply for funding out of fear that their application would be rejected. (Kauffman Firm Survey, 2012)

• The industry with the highest amount of entrepreneurial activity in 2011 was construction, followed by the services industry. (Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity 2010-2011)

• While construction is the most popular type of new business, it's also the one that's had the lowest survival rate in the past ten years. The healthcare and social assistance industry, however, has had the highest survival rate during that same period. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics)

• Immigrants were more than twice as likely to start businesses in 2011 compared to those born in America. The percentage of immigrant entrepreneurs has also risen steadily over the past 16 years. (Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity 2010-2011)

• The states with the biggest increases in entrepreneurial activity over the past 10 years are Nevada, Georgia, Massachusetts, California, Louisiana, and Florida. Wyoming and New Mexico had the lowest amounts of entrepreneurial activity. (Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity 2010-2011)

• The city with the most entrepreneurial activity in 2011 was Los Angeles. Chicago had the least amount of entrepreneurial activity. (Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity 2010-2011)