Start-up rates begin to show signs of slowdown in most OECD countries in 2011

OECD's brand new numbers indicate that start-up rates are once again beginning to show signs of a slowdown across the member countries.

As start-ups are an important source of job creation in OECD economies. At the height of the global economic crisis, start-up rates fell precipitously in all OECD countries where data is available. In subsequent quarters, start-up rates began picking up, toward pre-crisis levels, but in recent quarters this momentum appears to have stalled. The most notable exception is Australia, where start-up rates continued to grow in the first and second quarter of 2011. A similar but less robust trend is evident in Norway. Start-up rates in Spain were also marginally up in the second quarter of 2011, but the overall rate remains at crisis levels. Rates in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States all showed signs of a slowdown in the first and second quarter of 2011.