For the First Time Since the Great Recession, U.S. Startup Activity Is Strengthening A new report from the Kauffman Foundation shows a rebound in entrepreneurship.

By Catherine Clifford

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Veri Ivanova | StockSnap.io

For the first time since the Great Recession decimated the U.S. economy, entrepreneurship is making a comeback.

The rise of U.S. startup activity reverses a five-year general decline, according to the latest report by the Kauffman Foundation, a non-profit entrepreneurship organization. The 2015 Startup Activity report measures data through the end of 2014.

"This rebound in entrepreneurial activity lines up with the strength we've seen in other economic indicators, and should generate hope for further economic expansion," said Dane Stangler, vice president of research and policy at the Kauffman Foundation, in a statement.

For every 100,000 adults, there were about 310 new entrepreneurs each month, compared with an average of 280 in 2014, according to the report. The jump marked the largest year-over-year increase in two decades.

Related: Jolt Yourself Out of Your Routine. That Billion-Dollar Business Idea Could Be Waiting.

The rate of new entrepreneurship in the U.S. is only one of the components which the Kauffman Foundation uses to generate its annual Startup Activity Index. Another measure included is the percentage of new entrepreneurs who are starting their own businesses because they see opportunity, not because they are out of work and unable to get a job.

These so-called "opportunity entrepreneurs" represented 79.6 percent of total new entrepreneurs, according to the latest report. That's a small increase over last year and a healthy jump over the percentage of opportunity entrepreneurs in the years following the Great Recession.

"Entrepreneurs starting new businesses because they saw market opportunities is back to historical norms," said Arnobio Morelix, one of the study's authors and a research analyst at the Kauffman Foundation, in a statement.

Though the most recent snapshot of the startup ecosystem in the U.S. is encouraging, U.S. entrepreneurship is not yet back to pre-recession levels. "It's important to view this short-term uptick in context of the bigger picture – we are still in a long-term decline of activity, which affects job creation, innovation and economic growth," says Stangler.

Related: Battle-Tested Startup Advice From 6 Awesome Entrepreneurs

Click to Enlarge
For the First Time Since the Great Recession, U.S. Startup Activity Is Strengthening
Image credit: Kauffman

Related: What Inspires Entrepreneurs to Work as Hard as They Do

Catherine Clifford

Senior Entrepreneurship Writer at CNBC

Catherine Clifford is senior entrepreneurship writer at CNBC. She was formerly a senior writer at Entrepreneur.com, the small business reporter at CNNMoney and an assistant in the New York bureau for CNN. Clifford attended Columbia University where she earned a bachelor's degree. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. You can follow her on Twitter at @CatClifford.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

JPMorgan Shuts Down Internal Message Board Comments After Employees React to Return-to-Office Mandate

Employees were given the option to leave comments about the RTO mandate with their first and last names on display — and they did not hold back.

Business News

Zillow Predicts These 10 Places Will Have the Hottest Housing Markets in 2025

Zillow predicted that the hottest housing market of 2025 will be Buffalo, New York. Here's why.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Business News

'Masculine Energy Is Good': Mark Zuckerberg Tells Joe Rogan He Thinks Companies Need More Aggression

On the most recent episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said corporate culture has become "neutered."

Business News

'More Soul-Crushing Than Ever': Popular Hiring Platform Finds Around 20% of Its Postings Were 'Ghost Jobs'

Is that job listing too good to be true? There's a one-in-five chance that it might be.

Growing a Business

5 Risk-Taking Lessons From Founders Who Bet Big and Won

Discover the bold moves and strategic risks that catapulted these entrepreneurs to success. Learn how their fearless decisions can inspire your own path to growth.