Sign of better times: US entrepreneur rate dips to prerecession levels

The rate at which Americans are starting new businesses declined last year to prerecession levels, according to annual figures released Wednesday. The findings from the Kauffman Foundation, which studies entrepreneurship, suggest more individuals are landing jobs and not opting to start businesses out of necessity—a group referred to as necessity entrepreneurs. The business-creation rate declined to 0.28 percent in 2013—a level not seen since before the Great Recession. In other words, business creation dipped to 280 out of 100,000 adults last year, compared with 300 among 100,000 individuals in 2013.