Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship and business creation is fundamental to a healthy economy. Companies less than five years old create an average of 1.5 million new jobs for Americans each year.† Immigrants in particular play an important role in creating jobs as they are more likely to start a new business than the rest of the population. Despite this, the United States lacks a startup visa to welcome immigrant entrepreneurs with a proven idea and solid investment. This results in many business owners struggling to stay—at a cost to our economy and its workers.
† Jason Wiens and Chris Jackson, “The Importance of Young Firms for Economic Growth,” September 13, 2015. Available online.
New American Economy Launches Ticket Sales and Announces Additional Talent for the New American Festival
NEW YORK – Today, ticket sales go live for New American Economy (NAE)’s inaugural New American Festival, a groundbreaking event celebrating immigrant contributions to American art, food, film, comedy, fashion, and more (September 14-15). The festival will feature a keynote address from New York Times best-selling author, host, and executive… Read More
New American Economy Announces First-of-its-Kind New American Festival, a Celebration of Immigrants in American Culture, September 14-15, 2019
NEW YORK – New American Economy (NAE) announces the launch of the New American Festival, a groundbreaking celebration of immigrant contributions to American comedy, art, food, film, fashion, and more. This festival highlights how so much of American culture is shaped by immigrants, and how diversity has electrified creativity… Read More
New Data Shows Immigrants Made Up Nearly 30 Percent of STEM Workers in North Texas in 2017
GRAPEVINE, TX – New data from New American Economy (NAE) shows that immigrants make up nearly 30 percent of North Texas’s science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workers. The report, which looks at immigrant contributions to the North Texas workforce, tax base, and major industries, was released at… Read More
Cookbook Author Julia Turshen and the Unifying Power of Food
New American Economy, a bipartisan immigration research and advocacy group, teamed up with chef Julia Turshen and the League of Kitchens to film a cooking class with League of Kitchens instructor Jeanette Chawki, originally from Lebanon. What started as a class in New York City to learn an authentic Lebanese… Read More
New data shows the number of immigrant entrepreneurs in the Washington, D.C. metro area grew by more than 11 percent in one year
New York – Today New American Economy (NAE), a bipartisan research and advocacy organization focused on immigration, released new data highlighting the significant contributions immigrants make to the Washington, D.C. metro area’s community and economy. The data shows that immigrants in Washington, D.C. are driving economic growth… Read More
New data shows immigrants in Pittsburgh paid more than $1 billion in taxes in 2017, an increase of more than $80 million in just one year
New York – Today New American Economy (NAE), a bipartisan research and advocacy organization focused on immigration, released new data highlighting the significant contributions immigrants make to Pittsburgh’s community and economy. The data shows that immigrants in Pittsburgh are driving the small business economy — there were… Read More
New data shows that immigrant household income in the New York metro area grew by more than $11 billion in one year
New York – Today New American Economy (NAE), a bipartisan research and advocacy organization focused on immigration, released new data highlighting the significant contributions immigrants make to the New York metro area’s community and economy. The data shows that immigrants in New York are playing an essential… Read More
New Research shows immigrants were responsible for more than one-third of total population growth in America’s 100 largest metro areas
New York – Today New American Economy (NAE), a bipartisan research and immigration advocacy organization, released new data showing the significant contributions that immigrants make to America’s 100 largest metro areas. The data, which shows taxes paid, industries supported, and businesses started, is featured on Map the Impact,… Read More
Kenyan Architect Starts Over in Lowell and Finds a Way to Repay the Favor
Anthony Nganga came to the United States in 2004 to join his wife, who had moved to America to earn a master’s degree and was living in Lowell. In Kenya, Nganga had worked as an architect. Now, because foreign professional licenses typically are not recognized in the United States, he… Read More
Escaping Cambodia as a Child, Lowell Resident Uses Business Expertise to Help His Community
Rasy An was about 9 when the Khmer Rouge sent him to a work camp. “I still have scars on my hand,” he says. “I told my daughter: This is something I had to do to survive, because if you couldn’t work they didn’t keep you alive.”… Read More
Immigrants Create American Jobs
How many jobs do immigrant entrepreneurs create? The data shows that firms owned by immigrants provide millions of jobs for U.S. workers and generate billions of dollars in annual income. With new business formation slowing in the United States, immigrant entrepreneurs have a critical role in many parts of the country, creating jobs for all Americans.
What percent of businesses are owned by immigrants?
The act of moving to another country is inherently courageous and risky. So, it comes as no surprise that immigrants tend to be more entrepreneurial than the rest of the population. In 2019, immigrant entrepreneurs made up 21.7 percent of all business owners in the United States, despite making up just over 13.6 percent of the population and 17.1 percent of the U.S. labor force.
Where Immigrants Are Most Entrepreneurial, 2019
Immigrants and the Recovery from the Great Recession
Foreign-born entrepreneurs and the jobs they created were instrumental in the recovery from the Great Recession. Between 2007 and 2011, immigrant entrepreneurs founded a large share of new businesses across the country and in several key states.
Share of New Businesses Founded by Immigrants in Select States, 2007-2011
Which Industries Are Immigrant Businesses Most Prevalent?
As important as the frequency with which immigrants start businesses is the diversity of fields in which they start them. Immigrants start more than 25 percent of all businesses in seven of the eight sectors that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects to grow the fastest over the next decade. They also play a large role in founding both Main Street businesses1 and high-tech firms.2
Sources:
1 David Dyssegaard Kallick, “Bringing Vitality to Main Street: How Immigrant Small Businesses Help Local Economies Grow,” New York: Fiscal Policy Institute and Americas Society/Council of the Americas, 2015. Available online.
2 Vivek Wadhwa et al., “America’s New Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Part I,” SSRN Scholarly Paper (Rochester, NY: Social Science Research Network, 2007). Available online.
Share of Businesses Started by Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Seven Key Sectors, 2007-2011
Immigrants Found both Main Street Businesses and High-Tech Firms
Business Ownership Among Immigrant Groups
Looking at specific ethnic and national origin groups within the immigrant population, we find that many exhibit entrepreneurship rates higher than the native-born. At right we highlight the particular contributions of Middle Eastern business owners in Detroit, a group frequently credited with helping to spur the city’s recent economic comeback.
Sources:
3 Steve Tobocman, “Guide to Immigrant Economic Development,” Welcoming America, accessed July 5, 2016. Available online.
4 New American Economy, "Reason for Reform: Entrepreneurship," October 2016. Available online.
Entrepreneurship Rates for Immigrant Subgroups, 2014
Immigrants and the Fortune 500
Consistent with past NAE research, a significant number of firms on the most recent Fortune 500 list were founded by immigrants or their children. These companies make enormous contributions to both the U.S. and global economy. They also live on beyond their founders, generating jobs and revenue long after their visionaries retire or move on.
Visa Obstacles
Currently, there is no visa for those who want to come to the United States, start a company, and create jobs for U.S. workers. To access a visa, many immigrant entrepreneurs choose to sell a majority stake in their company and then apply for a visa as a high-skilled worker rather than as the owner of the firm. Our broken H-1B visa system, however, means that many entrepreneurs cannot get a visa before the cap is exhausted each year. In 2016, the White House proposed a rule that would make it easier for entrepreneurs to remain in the country, but it is clear a more permanent, legislative fix is needed.5
Sources:
5 Issie Lapowski, “White House Proposes a New Immigration Rule for Entrepreneurs,” WIRED, accessed December 14, 2016. Available online.
6“USCIS Completes the H-1B Cap Random Selection Process for FY 2016,” USCIS, accessed December 14, 2016. Available online.
Low-Skilled Entrepreneurship
Immigrant entrepreneurs are hardly a monolithic group. While much of the attention is focused on high-skilled foreign-born entrepreneurs that drive innovation in Silicon Valley, immigrant entrepreneurs with humbler backgrounds continue to play critical roles in the U.S. economy. Founding retail shops, restaurants, and personal service businesses, these immigrant entrepreneurs help towns and cities across the United States stay vibrant. In sum, the over 2.1 million immigrant entrepreneurs with less than a college degree have a significant economic impact, creating billions of dollars in economic activity and providing jobs to thousands of Americans.
Top Industries Among Immigrant Entrepreneurs with Less than a Bachelor’s Degree, 2015
Entrepreneurship Rates of Workers in Various Demographic Groups, 2015
Business Income of Less-Skilled Immigrant Entrepreneurs, 2015
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