Answer: 4.4 million

Questions

• Based on the chart above, were most of these new businesses likely to hire employees or were they started by solo entrepreneurs? 
• Do you know anyone who started a business in the last year?
• Why do you think that so many new businesses were started in the middle of a pandemic? 

Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (Peterson Institute)

Despite a health catastrophe and one of the worst economic downturns in modern history, startup business activity grew in the United States last year—business startups[1] grew from 3.5 million in 2019 to 4.4 million in 2020, a 24 percent increase. The number of new businesses also increased in Chile, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Other economies were not so vibrant: New business formation declined by a quarter in Portugal and Russia. Startup activity in China barely budged, growing by 3 percent in the first three quarters of 2020 relative to 2019.

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About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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