Americans are forming new businesses at an impressive rate, but it's hard to say how durable these startups will be.
“I am begging for assistants!” my hairdresser complained when I last saw her. As an economist, I immediately made a note to myself: I need to check the latest numbers on business formation.
As it turns out, they are way up since the end of the pandemic — which is an encouraging sign. But it’s too soon to say whether the change will last.
My hairdresser’s complaint is in many ways illustrative. Before the pandemic, her salon was the kind of place new beauty-school graduates would die to work at. Ambitious hairstylists would graduate from beauty school, newly licensed but not especially skilled or connected, and work as an assistant in an established salon. The pay wouldn’t be great, but they’d be trained in the latest techniques, learn salon dynamics, interact with high-end clients and build their resume.
Continue reading the entire piece here at Bloomberg Opinion (paywall)
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Allison Schrager is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal.
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