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.
Latino Immigrants As Job Creators
Voxxi September 13, 2012 CFR’s Renewing America initiative just released a new report by Alexandra Starr, a fellow at the New America Foundation, titled “Latino Immigrant Entrepreneurs: How to Capitalize on Their Economic Potential.” Many people view low-skilled immigrants as an economic burden because they produce few income taxes. Read More
Mayor Bloomberg Gives Washington Economic Tips
The Epoch Times September 13, 2012 NEW YORK—Mayor Michael Bloomberg has long been lauding the city’s economic recovery to New Yorkers. On Wednesday, he showcased his advice to Washington. Bloomberg’s speech at a forum hosted by The Economic Club of Washington, D.C. came at an appropriate time. This week… Read More
Editorial: Unleashing The Potential of Immigrants
Washington Post September 2, 2012 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS are entitled to a free public education through high school. Thanks to President Obama’s executive order this spring, more than 1 million of them are now eligible for temporary work permits. But even as America slouches toward recognition that undocumented youngsters are… Read More
Entrepreneurial Spirit Knows No Borders
The Seattle Times August 30, 2012 In the 1920s, architects designed the 23-story art deco Exchange Building in downtown Seattle to house a stock exchange. But those plans ended when the U.S. stock market crashed in 1929. More than 80 years later, this Second Avenue building will finally host… Read More
A Common Cause for Both Parties
Forbes August 29, 2012 National conventions are a time for the two political parties to present their opposing visions of the next four years. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t continue to seek common ground on critical problems facing the country. This week at the Republican National Convention, where… Read More
Over One in Four New Businesses in 2011 Started by Immigrants
Examiner.com August 29, 2012 According to the new report by the nonpartisan Partnership for a New American Economy, “Open for Business: How Immigrants are Driving Business Creation in the United States,” immigrants were responsible for an astonishing 28 percent of all new business started in this country last year. Read More
Immigrants Twice as Likely to Start Small Businesses as Native-Born
AllGov August 28, 2012 The U.S. should be welcoming, and not demonizing, immigrants if it seeks job and economic growth, based on a new study about entrepreneurialism. A report from the Partnership for a New American Economy says immigrants are more than twice as likely as native-born Americans to… Read More
Immigrant entrepreneur sees great opportunity in St. Louis
St. Louis Post-Dispatch August 20, 2012 Arnoldo Müller-Molina was planning to build his business in his native Costa Rica until he read about a St. Louis group that was giving away money. Seven months later, he has a downtown St. Louis office to call his own, and he’s about… Read More
Diaspora and development: Immigrants are economically invigorating
Minn Post August 20, 2012 Living in Minnesota, especially the Twin Cities, you might have heard and wondered what the term “diaspora” refers to. It’s defined as “the movement, migration, or scattering of a people away from an established or ancestral homeland.” Globally, 3 percent of the population (about… Read More
Immigration reform key to economic revival
Boston.com August 19, 2012 Michael Bloomberg, the independent mayor of New York City, is no one’s idea of a hardline Republican conservative. Media titan Rupert Murdoch, whose empire includes Fox News and The Wall Street Journal, is no one’s idea of a squishy Republican moderate. And Boston Mayor Thomas… 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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Make a direct impact on the lives of immigrants.
