Business Dynamics Statistics Briefing: Where Have All the Young Firms Gone?

Abstract

The Census Bureau’s Business Dynamics Statistics (BDS) provides data on business dynamics for U.S. firms and establishments with paid employees. This briefing highlights some key features of the most recent BDS update, which now has data through 2010. As the most complete public-use dataset allowing for the analysis of business dynamics in the United States, the BDS is a key source of knowledge about the changing state, as well as the national, economy.

The new BDS data release shows that, in 2010, 394,000 startups created 2.3 million jobs (these were not simply establishment openings but new firms whose establishments also were new to the economy). This reflects substantial job creation in a time of anemic overall economic activity. Over the same period from March 2009 to March 2010, the net job creation from all U.S. private sector firms was - 1.8 million jobs. Without the contribution of business startups, the net employment loss would have been substantially greater.

Keywords: business, startup, rate, census, national, economy, job creation