IMF: Outlook For World Economy Is Brighter
1 week ago
The International Monetary Fund has upgraded its outlook for the global economy, saying the world appears headed for a “soft landing” — reining in inflation without much economic pain and producing steady if modest growth. The IMF now envisions 3.2% worldwide expansion this year, up a tick from the 3.1% it had predicted in January and matching 2023’s pace. It notes that the global expansion is being powered by unexpectedly strong growth in the United States, the world’s largest economy. The IMF expects the U.S. economy to grow 2.7% this year, an upgrade from the 2.1% it had predicted in January and faster than a solid 2.5% expansion in 2023.
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Record numbers of people are starting new businesses, and more and more of them are women and minorities, according to a new study.
New business applications jumped in 2020 as the pandemic started, and have continued to be filed at a record pace. More than 5 million applications were filed in 2021 and 2022 and a record 5.5 million new business applications were filed in 2023.
Payroll firm Gusto surveyed 1,300 owners who started their small business last year to discover their characteristics.
Women made up 49% of the new business owners surveyed. That’s in line with the past several years, but up starkly from 2019, when just 29% of new business owners were women.
Still, women do not receive as much interest from investors as men. In 2023, just 3% of women entrepreneurs received a private capital investment to start their business, compared to 9% of male entrepreneurs.
Black entrepreneurs made up 6% of new business owners in 2023, double the 3% rate seen before the pandemic. Hispanic entrepreneurs made up 13% of new owners, compared to 8% last year.
Meanwhile, more businesses are being started as “side hustles,” or businesses that supplement day jobs. Forty-four percent of entrepreneurs who started a new business in 2023 did so while working another job, either part time or full time, up from 27% in 2022.
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Record numbers of people are starting new businesses, and more and more of them are women and minorities, according to a new study.
New business applications jumped in 2020 as the pandemic started, and have continued to be filed at a record pace. More than 5 million applications were filed in 2021 and 2022 and a record 5.5 million new business applications were filed in 2023.
Payroll firm Gusto surveyed 1,300 owners who started their small business last year to discover their characteristics.
Women made up 49% of the new business owners surveyed. That’s in line with the past several years, but up starkly from 2019, when just 29% of new business owners were women.
Still, women do not receive as much interest from investors as men. In 2023, just 3% of women entrepreneurs received a private capital investment to start their business, compared to 9% of male entrepreneurs.
Black entrepreneurs made up 6% of new business owners in 2023, double the 3% rate seen before the pandemic. Hispanic entrepreneurs made up 13% of new owners, compared to 8% last year.
Meanwhile, more businesses are being started as “side hustles,” or businesses that supplement day jobs. Forty-four percent of entrepreneurs who started a new business in 2023 did so while working another job, either part time or full time, up from 27% in 2022.
