BUSINESS BRIEFS
Hawaii low in entrepreneurship
Advertiser Staff
Hawai'i has one of the lowest entrepreneurial activity rates in the country, though the number of people who go into business here is rapidly increasing, according to a new study.
The Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, an annual study that measures business startup activity, found Hawai'i to be eighth-lowest in the nation in 2007. Its rate of 210 entrepreneurs per 100,000 people was only better than in West Virginia, Alabama, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
But the report also noted that Hawai'i had the second-largest rate increase in activity over the last decade, trailing only Alaska in increasing number of business formations.
The report's index of entrepreneurial activity notes the percentage of people ages 20 to 64 who start a business and devote 15 or more hours a week to it.
Hawai'i's index was 0.21, below the national average of 0.30.
The report also found that immigrants outpace native-born Americans in business formation, and that men are now twice as likely as women to start a business.
