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There's a difference between saying entrepreneurship is increasingly important and saying it's picking up speed.

, looked hard for data that might show an increase in entrepreneurial activity lately. As he 

explains in the January edition of the fedgazette

, the quarterly newsletter published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, he didn't find much.

The piece is an in-depth look at what the numbers do and don't say about entrepreneurism and a great summary of the variety of ways to look at the data. (It's more exhaustive than 

, but, I'm happy to report, similar in conclusion.)

None of which is to say the increasing emphasis on entrepreneurship among economic development officials, community activists, foundations and even the president, is somehow wrongly placed. Growing or not, entrepreneurs are increasingly appreciated as a powerful engine of potential economic growth.

And there is one chunk of data Wirtz points to that provides room to think self-employment may indeed be growing. The Bureau of Economic Analysis measure of income taken in by proprietors fell for three years in a row but rose sharply in 2010. Wirtz points out a lot of caveats about what that might mean, but at least it's one graph that turns upward at the end.

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The January issue of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis’ quarterly newspaper, the fedgazette, explores the data of self-employment and finds little evidence that it is growing.

Minneapolis Fed finds little evidence self-employment has grown

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