14 Million Jobs Created, but Trend is Down

It seemed for a while as if jobs were only being lost during the Great Recession. New data from the Census Bureau, however, shows new and expanding firms created 14 million jobs in 2009.

Robert E. Litan, , a vice president at the Kauffman Foundation, called it "heartening" that entrepreneurs were finding ways to create jobs despite the economic obstacles.

While heartening, the jobs created represented a 25% decrease in overall job creation and a 34% decline among startups compared to 2006. Job creation rates were the lowest since at least 1980.

The report notes that the poor job creation results were due to both the recession and a long-term decline in job creation. "Job creation in the post-2000 period is 13% lower than in the 1980s," the report notes. In fact, the report points out that the "United States has become both less dynamic and exhibited slower net growth over this time period."