By desire or by necessity, going out on your own has become a way of life in America, and nowhere is that truer than in Atlanta and Georgia.
Georgia led the nation in new business startups in 2010, while Atlanta tied for the second-most among the 15 biggest metro areas, according to the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, produced by the Kansas City-based Kauffman Foundation.
In metro Atlanta, 580 people per 100,000 adults launched a business each month last year, second only to Los Angeles where 620 did, the report said.
In Georgia, 510 people per 100,000 started a business, tying it with Nevada for the top spot among states.
By comparison, 340 out of 100,000 adults created a new business each month nationwide.
Georgia also experienced the largest gain in entrepreneurial activity over the past decade, which Kaufman determined by comparing startup rates for the 2008-2010 period to those of 1998-2000.
Study author Rob Fairlie, a professor of economics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said the uptick in entrepreneurship since the recession could be due to high unemployment and job cuts at established businesses.
The Kauffman index measures new business owners in their first month of significant activity. It uses data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A business is defined as having started when the owner makes it his main work endeavor in terms of time and effort.
The study said the nationwide startup rate in 2010 equaled that of 2009 and remains at its highest level in the last decade and a half. The study found, however, that many business founders are not hiring additional workers, referring to it as "jobless entrepreneurship."
Among other findings:
- Entrepreneurship was highest for the 35-44 age group. The 55-64 age group also experienced a major jump in startup activity.
- Latinos experienced the largest increase among racial groups in entrepreneurial activity in 2010. The rate for Asians also increased, while the rate for African-Americans and non-Latino whites declined.
- Entrepreneurship was highest among the least-educated group, "suggesting an increased number of people entering entrepreneurship out of necessity."
- Immigrants were more than twice as likely to start businesses each month as were native-born people.
- The construction industry had the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity, followed by services.
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