February 1, 2014. An opinion piece in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests that, since immigrants are somewhat more likely than U.S.-born workers to be business owners, immigration could also hold economic growth potential for Pittsburgh. FPI has data suggesting that this potential shouldn’t be exaggerated, but that there is also real potential there.
The article quotes FPI’s report on immigrant small business owners, saying:
National data show that foreign immigrants are more likely than U.S. natives to form small businesses. A study by the Fiscal Policy Institute found that nearly 1 in 5 small business owners (18 percent) in the U.S. in 2007 were immigrants, and immigrant-owned businesses collectively employed 4.7 million workers.