Maine has the second highest percentage in the country of new businesses that begin hiring employees within two years of being founded, according to a new national study published by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
The rate of new businesses in Maine that began hiring employees within two years—what the Kauffman Foundation calls the “new employer actualization rate”—was 17.17%, meaning that for every 100 new businesses, about 17 made a first payroll within eight quarters. Nationally, the rate was 11.33%. The rates are based on 2018 data, the most recent available, according to the study.
The only state to have a higher new employer actualization rate than Maine was Washington with 17.36%. The state with the lowest rate was Delaware with 6.59%.
The rate has steadily declined both nationally and in Maine since the Kauffman Foundation began tracking the metric in 2005. That year, the country’s new employer actualization rate was 21.14% while in Maine it was 29.45%. The rates have steadily decreased since then. Last year, Maine’s rate was 18.67%. The study does not provide any discussion of potential causes of this steady decline.
