Power Breakfast: Young firms create the jobs, Ga. bank failure, health care, NBC-Comcast

Small business long has been held out as the biggest job creator in the American economy, writes AJC reporter David Markiewicz.

But a new study says that a company’s age — not its size — is the most important factor in creating jobs.

The report, which used U.S. Census data, says it’s actually young firms — those 1 to 5 years old — that add the most jobs. Some, but not all of those young firms, are still considered small businesses.

Commissioned by the private, non-partisan Kauffman Foundation, the study says 8 million of the 12 million jobs added in 2007 were created by young firms.

The study’s authors said the distinction between small businesses and new ones has public policy implications, Markiewicz writes. They argue for: cutting payroll taxes; helping immigrants seeking scientific training or trying to launch companies; helping academic entrepreneurs commercialize their innovations; and aiding the ability of firms to borrow.

Also in the AJC:

• Kia plant getting ready to start production in West Point
• Health care bill faces tough road in Senate
• Another Georgia bank failure
• Law firms try to take advantage of low rents
• Companies plotting strategy for recovery

In other media:

• Jobless: 10 percent is tougher than it used to be
• Intense review expected for NBC-Comcast deal
• The medical industry grumbles, but it stands to gain from reform
• Former CEOs lend hand to struggling companies