美国正经历一场由技术变革驱动的创业热潮。长期以来，尽管有60%的美国人表达过自主创业的意愿，但实际自雇人群的比例长期不足10%。这一局面在疫情后发生了显著转变。在人工智能、电商平台（如Etsy、Shopify、TikTok Shop）以及低招聘成本的推动下，新公司申请量剧增。2026年6月，美国人口普查局录得超过53.1万份新企业申请，较2019年的月平均水平激增81%。这种自雇热潮在英国和法国也有所体现，但美国的增长态势最为迅猛。
尽管经济学家过去常质疑小微企业的生产效率（美国小企业的生产率仅为大企业的70%），但人工智能的普及正在改变这一状况。AI技术使得许多单枪匹马的“一人企业”（solopreneurs）能够在无需招募传统员工的情况下扩展业务规模。基本的聊天机器人和AI代理可以帮助小企业处理注册备案、制定商业计划、分析销售趋势及自动执行行政任务。美国银行的数据显示，低收入群体在新型创业者中的占比不断上升，表明AI正在降低创业门槛，为因技术变革而失业的人群提供了一种兼具可行性与经济价值的就业替代方案。
这场小微企业热潮主要集中在科技、零售和医疗保健等服务性行业，且在乡村及传统制造业衰退地区表现尤为明显。根据Shopify的数据，来自乡村地区的新企业占比持续上升。为了进一步巩固这一趋势，政府需要进行针对性改革，包括降低过于繁琐的职业许可门槛，并改革医疗保险体系，避免从业人员因绑定传统职位而无法投身自雇事业。通过AI处理后台行政事务、以个人创业为核心的新型经济模式，将有望使更多人实现经济独立与自我价值。
America is experiencing a small-business boom that bridges a historic gap in the labor market. While 60% of Americans have long expressed a desire for self-employment, fewer than 10% actually operated independent businesses in recent decades. Driven by artificial intelligence, low hiring costs, and online platforms like Shopify, Etsy, and TikTok Shop, business creation has surged since the pandemic. In June, the US Census Bureau registered over 531,000 new business applications, marking an 81% increase compared to the monthly average in 2019. While payments firm Stripe notes similar self-employment growth in Britain and France, the trend is most pronounced in the United States.
Although small businesses have historically been only 70% as productive as large corporations, artificial intelligence is closing this performance gap. Many newly established businesses are "one-man bands" that traditional measures viewed as unlikely to scale. Today, AI chatbots and automated agents assist sole proprietors with business registration, strategic planning, client marketing, and sales analytics, enabling them to expand operations without adding payroll headcount. Furthermore, Bank of America reports a growing proportion of new entrepreneurs coming from low-income backgrounds, suggesting that AI is democratizing business ownership and offering meaningful alternatives for workers displaced by corporate automation.
The current startup wave is predominantly focused on service sectors like tech, retail, and healthcare, with significant expansion occurring in non-metropolitan areas. E-commerce giant Shopify highlights that the share of new businesses originating from rural regions has risen steadily, offering economic revitalization to areas previously hurt by manufacturing losses. To sustain this momentum, policymakers must dismantle structural barriers, particularly by reforming burdensome occupational licensing rules and decoupling health insurance access from traditional employment. An economy powered by solo entrepreneurship and back-end AI automation offers a realistic path toward broader economic independence and labor flexibility.
Source: America’s startup boom offers hope for the future of work
Subtitle: AI could make more people their own boss
Dateline: 7月 30, 2026 05:36 上午