Illinois Among Top States In Creating Businesses
From Crain's Chicago Business
So much for the jobs-killer rep—when it comes to states that are growing new businesses, Illinois is among the top U.S. leaders. The Land of Lincoln ranked No. 2 among states where businesses are being created the fastest, according to numbers released yesterday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The number of business startups in Illinois jumped 4.7 percent in the fourth quarter compared with a year earlier. The only state beating Illinois was Massachusetts—home of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology—whose fourth-quarter number rose 5.6 percent.
Education seems to be a common thread among the top business-creating states, said Robert Atkinson, president of the Washington-based Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, a research group that promotes innovation.
"One factor is that their university systems are all above average," Atkinson said.
Chicago universities ranked high on U.S. News & World Report's rankings of top U.S. academic research institutions released last September. The University of Chicago came in at No. 4 and Northwestern ranked No. 13.
The density of young firms and population diversity, including an area's ability to attract immigrants, are among the factors that helped some metropolitan areas and states stand out, said Arnobio Morelix, a research analyst who studies startups at the Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, Mo.
Illinois fits that bill, aided by Chicago's status as one of the fastest-growing cities for technology jobs, with a rapidly-growing tech community in River North. Yet the reasons for success sometimes aren't simple, he adds.
"Places with high startup activities tend to be attractive for reasons beyond just the economy," Morelix said. "They are places where people want to live and people want to move."
Read more in our daily News Update...
From Crain's Chicago Business
So much for the jobs-killer rep—when it comes to states that are growing new businesses, Illinois is among the top U.S. leaders. The Land of Lincoln ranked No. 2 among states where businesses are being created the fastest, according to numbers released yesterday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The number of business startups in Illinois jumped 4.7 percent in the fourth quarter compared with a year earlier. The only state beating Illinois was Massachusetts—home of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology—whose fourth-quarter number rose 5.6 percent.
Education seems to be a common thread among the top business-creating states, said Robert Atkinson, president of the Washington-based Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, a research group that promotes innovation.
"One factor is that their university systems are all above average," Atkinson said.
Chicago universities ranked high on U.S. News & World Report's rankings of top U.S. academic research institutions released last September. The University of Chicago came in at No. 4 and Northwestern ranked No. 13.
The density of young firms and population diversity, including an area's ability to attract immigrants, are among the factors that helped some metropolitan areas and states stand out, said Arnobio Morelix, a research analyst who studies startups at the Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, Mo.
Illinois fits that bill, aided by Chicago's status as one of the fastest-growing cities for technology jobs, with a rapidly-growing tech community in River North. Yet the reasons for success sometimes aren't simple, he adds.
"Places with high startup activities tend to be attractive for reasons beyond just the economy," Morelix said. "They are places where people want to live and people want to move."
Read more in our daily News Update...