WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - Sep 7, 2012) - The Startup America Partnership today released the results of its first quarterly [ Optimism Survey ]. In collaboration with leading global management consulting firm Oliver Wyman, Startup America polled its members to gauge their confidence about their own businesses and the overall U.S. economy. The survey asked startup companies to rate their confidence in the U.S. economy and in the success of their business, rank challenges facing their company, and what plans are in place, if any, to hire new employees.

With an unemployment rate of 8.1% in the U.S., the most encouraging finding was that 85% of Startup America members plan on hiring over the next twelve months. Eleven percent of those said they would hire ten or more employees, and 42 percent said they would add between 3-10 employees. Data from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation show that young companies (those less than five years old) accounted for nearly all of the net job growth in our country between 1980 and 2005.

"As young companies grow and generate revenue they hire more employees, creating more job opportunities," said Scott Case, CEO of the Startup America Partnership. "Our members are comprised of amazing startups from every region in the country and we encourage everyone to connect with startups in their local community in order to meet the real heroes of the economy."

Eighty-four percent of members surveyed were optimistic about the prospects for their businesses in the next 12 months, while 40 percent of those rated their view of the future as "strongly optimistic." When asked about the overall economy, they were somewhat more balanced -- 50 percent said they were growing more confident in the US economy, while 20 percent are growing less confident.

Startup America plans on releasing the Optimism Survey on a quarterly basis in order to gauge startups' outlook as the overall economy continues to take shape. For more details on the Optimism Survey, please visit: [ www.s.co/OptimismSurvey ].

About The Startup America Partnership
The Startup America Partnership is a growing national movement of thousands of founders, experts and resources providing startups access to the corporations, investors, and services they need to grow. Launched at the White House in early 2011, the Partnership brings together startups and local champions from around the country focused on creating successful networks for young, high-growth companies to thrive. AOL co-founder Steve Case chairs the Partnership and the Kauffman and Case Foundations are its founding partners. American Airlines, American Express OPEN, Dell Inc., Intuit Inc., Microsoft and NYSE Euronext are corporate sponsors. For more information on the Partnership, visit [ www.s.co ] and follow us @startupamerica and [ www.facebook.com/startupamerica ].

About Oliver Wyman
Oliver Wyman is a global leader in management consulting. With offices in 50+ cities across 25 countries, Oliver Wyman combines deep industry knowledge with specialized expertise in strategy, operations, risk management, and organization transformation. The firm's 3,000 professionals help clients optimize their business, improve their operations and risk profile, and accelerate their organizational performance to seize the most attractive opportunities. Oliver Wyman is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE: [ MMC ]). For more information, visit [ www.oliverwyman.com ]. Follow Oliver Wyman on Twitter @OliverWyman.