Few People Believe Small Businesses Lead to Job Creation, Sobering Study Reveals…

Job creation remains one of most debated subjects today. From reducing government regulations to improving education, there are a number of different suggestions for creating more jobs.

A recent poll by Gallup uncovered top recommendations for job creation, by asking 1,011 American participants, “What would be the best way to create more jobs in the United States?”

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The number one recommendation from participants was “Keeping manufacturing jobs from going overseas.” Nineteen percent of people polled said this would be the best corporate action. And while President Donald Trump’s campaign consisted of much talk about creating and retaining more manufacturing jobs in the U.S., this topic has been long-discussed even before his campaign. Keeping manufacturing jobs in the U.S. also topped Gallup’s 2009 and 2011 polls.

Reducing government regulation, lowering taxes, creating more infrastructure work and improving education were also among the top suggestions from surveyed Americans. In fact, 12 percent of people said less government regulation would be the best solution and another 12 percent said lowering taxes was the answer.

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Unfortunately for entrepreneurs, few people believe that small businesses will help lead to job creation. In fact, only 6 percent voted on “Do more to help small businesses” this year, while this number was 12 percent in 2009 and 11 percent in 2011. Forty-eight percent of the U.S. workforce is employed by small businesses, according to the Small Business Administration.

With the rise of technology, people are beginning to worry about their jobs. Compared to 2009 (3 percent) and 2011 (4 percent), a substantial amount of more people (10 percent) voted on “Improve education” as the best way to create more jobs. That’s because a primary concern for many people today is that their jobs will be eliminated by technology, AI, robots and automation, so better education could lead to better jobs.

Rose Leadem

Rose Leadem is an online editorial assistant at Entrepreneur Media Inc. 

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