Start Ups Expect to Create Thousands of New Jobs
By Lisa Johnson Mandell , Posted Apr 22nd 2011 @ 12:27PM
It's no secret that small business is the key to the recovery and reigning in unemployment, and that start-ups, particularly those involving the high tech industry, are taking the lead. Proving this point are the results of a recent survey of 375 U.S.-based, private, venture capital-backed software, hardware, life science and clean tech companies. The research revealed that start-ups are so optimistic about current business opportunities that 83 percent plan to hire this year. That means thousands of new jobs will likely be created.
And those numbers are up significantly from the already high percentage (73 percent) of start-ups that reported plans to hire in last year's report by Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).
"We have always known intuitively that the innovation sector will lead the U.S. in economic recovery," said Greg Becker, CEO of SVB Financial Group and Silicon Valley Bank. "This new data, however, clearly shows that technology companies met or beat their 2010 revenue targets, are still experiencing improved business conditions and are creating U.S. jobs. There is no question that the innovation sector is making a tangible impact on the U.S. economy and our ability to compete globally."
Just because high tech firms are hiring doesn't mean it's all smooth sailing ahead for them, however. They have their concerns, as do companies in other industries. The report says high tech leaders see their biggest challenges as access to equity capital as well as the current regulatory and political environment.
Across start-ups, the regulatory issues of greatest concern were uncertainty about new regulations, the impact the overall regulatory environment has on risk taking, and health care reform. Life science companies are particularly concerned about the impact the regulatory environment is having on their ability to thrive: 64 percent of these companies say the regulatory environment is a challenge and 83 percent say the government could help them grow by improving the FDA approval process.
Still, job seekers who already have the skills these industries require, or who have the time and resources to re-train, would do well to investigate the career opportunities at start-ups. Granted, you never know if they're going to make it and how long they'll be around, but there are distinct advantages to getting in on the ground floor. Just ask those involved with Google, Facebook and Groupon.
Next: Top Companies Hiring This Week
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Lisa Johnson Mandell
Lisa Johnson Mandell is an award-winning multi-media journalist, host and author of Career Comeback--Repackage Yourself to Get the Job You Want. Lisa discusses her AOL pieces each week and interviews vital guests on the web TV show, This Week in Careers. Learn more on LisaJohnsonMandell.com.
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