Report: Latinos, Immigrants Fueled Entrepreneurship In 2012

Nearly 20 percent of the six million people that opened new businesses last year were Latinos, according to a new study.

Nationally, entrepreneurship actually saw a dip, partly due to more job creation in established firms and corporations, according to a report by the Kauffman Foundation. But Latino and immigrant entrepreneurs continued to fuel new business.

In fact, the volume of Hispanic entrepreneurs has nearly doubled since 1996, according to the study.

But how does a better economy equate to less small business owners?

"It's likely not a coincidence that the number of new businesses created dropped when the economy improved last year. While a stronger economy is good for business growth, it also means the unemployed find jobs instead of starting firms," said Dane Stangler, director of research at the Kauffman Foundation, which conducts the annual study.

Last year the number of Latino entrepreneurs grew more than white, black and Asian entrepreneurs, according to the study. In 2012, Latinos accounted for 19 percent of total new entrepreneurship -- 400 out of every 100,000 adults.

Whites comprised 62 percent of all new business owners in 2012 -- a rate of 290 out of 100,000 adults.New black entrepreneurs comprised nine percent of all new business owners and grew at a rate of 210 out of 100,000 adults. Asian entrepreneurs, meanwhile, comprised just six percent of all new business owners, expanding at a rate of 310 out of 100,000 adults.

New Latino entrepreneurs continue to outpace all other groups and are fueling future job creation in the United States. Since 1996, the number of Hispanic entrepreneurs has nearly doubled, from 11 percent to 20 percent in 2012.

Meanwhile, the percentage of new white entrepreneurs in the United States has fallen from 76 percent to 62 percent during the same period.

As part of what experts point to as the new immigrant spirit, the share of 'new immigrant entrepreneurs' rose from 14 percent in 1996 to 27 percent of all entrepreneurs in 2012.