The Washington Post (10/3, Harrison) reports, "The once steady rise in
immigrant entrepreneurship has stalled in the United States, threatening to
further slow an already sluggish economic recovery. Over the past six years,
the proportion of new companies founded by foreign-born individuals has
slipped to 24.3 percent from 25.3 percent, according to a" report by the
Kauffman Foundation. "This updated previous studies showing a boom in
immigrant entrepreneurship over previous decades."
Bloomberg BusinessWeek (10/3, Leiber) reports, "In Silicon Valley,"
the report found, "it declined from 52.4 percent to 43.9 percent during the
same period. Kauffman extrapolates that tech firms with immigrant founders
employed about 560,000 workers and generated an estimated $63 billion in
sales from 2006 to 2012. Native-born entrepreneurs aren't making up the
difference. Their startup rate has remained relatively flat over the last 16
years, and declined in 2011, according to Kauffman's most recent index that
tracked new business creation from 1996 to 2011."
AFP (10/3) reports, "The study comes amid intense debate in
Washington on immigration reforms, and on visa caps set for highly skilled
immigrants who are often hired in the technology sector. 'The US risks
losing a key growth engine just when the economy needs job creators more
than ever,' said Vivek Wadhwa, who led the study and is director of research
at the Duke University's Center for Entrepreneurship and Research
Commercialization. 'The US can reverse these trends with changes in policies
and opportunities, if it acts swiftly. It is imperative that we create a
startup visa for these entrepreneurs and expand the number of green cards
for skilled foreigners to work in these startups. Many immigrants would
gladly remain in the United States to start and grow companies that will
lead to jobs.'"
Also covering the story are Forbes (10/3, Kroll), the Houston
Business Journal (10/3, Monzingo, Subscription Publication), Voice of
America (10/3, Kouguell) "breaking news" blog and other media sources.
