Idaho ranked as leader in business startups in 2009

Idaho was one of the nation’s leaders in entrepreneurial activity in 2009, according to a national study by a Kansas City, Mo., nonprofit.

According to the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, startup businesses blossomed during the recession years of 2007 to 2009. Nationally, business startups reached their highest level in 14 years, according to a press release from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan fund that promotes entrepreneurship.

Oklahoma and Montana had the highest entrepreneurship rates in the nation, with 470 per 100,000 adults creating businesses each month. Arizona (460 per 100,000 adults) and Texas and Idaho (both with 450 businesses started per 100,000 adults) were also leaders.

The five states with the lowest rates of entrepreneurial activity were Mississippi (170 per 100,000 adults), Nebraska (200 per 100,000 adults), Pennsylvania (200 per 100,000 adults), Alabama (210 per 100,000 adults) and Minnesota (220 per 100,000 adults).

The national average in 2009, 340 of 100,000 adults, was a 4 percent increase over 2008.

“Challenging economic times can serve as a motivational boost to individuals who have been laid off to become their own employers and future job creators,” said Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation, which released the study May 24.