Studies of employment growth factors are more relevant during crises. Review of foreign studies and analysis of Russian data in 2005—2018 using a distributed lag model based on the Almon method shows that there are multidirectional short-term direct and longer-term indirect effects of starting a business on employment growth. The regional context is important; and the prevalence of one effect over another and the direction of influence of additional factors depend on the type of region. Thus; for large agglomerations with high labor productivity and an active SME sector; an S-shaped lag structure of the dependence of employment on the creation of new firms was revealed: with short-term positive; medium-term negative; and further positive effects. For regions with low urbanization; labor productivity and a less active SME sector; the most striking is the short-term positive impact on employment from the opening of firms; which is replaced by a negative one after 2—3 years. At the same time; in the latter regions; the total impact may be higher than in the former; and on average; a new firm (per 1;000 people in the workforce) leads to an increase in employment by 0.56 p.p. This provides grounds for some policy recommendations.

During crises, discussions about the sources of employment intensify, including that of entrepreneurship. The growth of employment in the entrepreneurial sector is one of the national goals, which should be achieved up until 2030. However, the selection and verification of support measures requires the determination of the underlying growth factors. The paper proposes an econometric model, where the dependent variable is the growth of employment in the SME sector in the Russian regions over the previous decade. According to the results of the estimations, the creation of new companies is significant: one new enterprise creates on average 10 new jobs in small and medium-sized businesses, while a technological startup creates 60 new jobs next year. Employment growth in the last decade is higher in regions with growing incomes of the population, with good access to banking capital and large markets, and with low criminal risks. Increasing Internet accessibility contributes to the growth of the business sector; whereas nationalization of the economy is an obstacle. Employment is growing in SMEs in agricultural regions and decreasing in the centers of production. The efforts of the authorities should aim at lowering the barriers to market entry for the new companies, increasing access to capital, markets and the Internet, and stimulating the digitalization of the economy.

During crises, discussions about the sources of employment intensify, including that of entrepreneurship. The growth of employment in the entrepreneurial sector is one of the national goals, which should be achieved up until 2030. However, the selection and verification of support measures requires the determination of the underlying growth factors. The paper proposes an econometric model, where the dependent variable is the growth of employment in the SME sector in the Russian regions over the previous decade. According to the results of the estimations, the creation of new companies is significant: one new enterprise creates on average 10 new jobs in small and medium-sized businesses, while a technological startup creates 60 new jobs next year. Employment growth in the last decade is higher in regions with growing incomes of the population, with good access to banking capital and large markets, and with low criminal risks. Increasing Internet accessibility contributes to the growth of the business sector; whereas nationalization of the economy is an obstacle. Employment is growing in SMEs in agricultural regions and decreasing in the centers of production. The efforts of the authorities should aim at lowering the barriers to market entry for the new companies, increasing access to capital, markets and the Internet, and stimulating the digitalization of the economy.

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