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Why are so many more of America’s self-employed immigrants than was the case a generation ago? Dan Wilmoth, an economist at the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration reports that the biggest reason is the rise in immigration.
Between 1994 and 2015, the immigrant fraction of the unincorporated self-employed rose from 8.6 percent to 19.5 percent, Wilmoth explains. Three separate factors account for that increase. First, and foremost, the number of foreign born Americans rose over the 21 year period. In 1994, 10.6 percent of Americans were born elsewhere. In 2015, 17.3 percent of the population were immigrants.