US Has Fewer Entrepreneurs And Self-Employed Than Before The Recession

From "The Great Recession’s Effect on Entrepreneurship" by Scott Shane, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland:

Despite the claim that recessions are a time of opportunity for entrepreneurs, the Great Recession had a negative impact on U.S. entrepreneurship. At the end of the recession, the United States had fewer businesses and self-employed people than it had before the downturn began. While some measures indicate that a big part of this decline came from the increased closure of existing businesses, the largest effect came from a decline in new business formation, particularly for businesses with employees, the more economically substantial type of business.

Read the complete commentary here.