StartUpHire says venture-backed startups really do create jobs

When entrepreneurs and venture capitalists ask for better treatment from the government, they love to talk about how startups create jobs. But can small companies really make a difference in the bigger landscape? Well, a study from the Kauffman Foundation earlier this year says they do. And now the National Venture Capital Association is teaming up with StartUpHire, a job site for venture-backed companies, to track how many jobs startups are creating.

As a group that lobbies for VC-friendly legislation, it’s clear why the NVCA wants as much data as possible showing that legislators need to care about the well-being of startups, and therefore about venture firms. Job listings on just one site aren’t exactly a scientific measurement, but they can help the NVCA see patterns over time (say, in response to a specific piece of legislation) without having to repeatedly conduct expensive studies of its own.

So what does the startup job market look like right now? StartUpHire says it currently lists more than 10,000 jobs at 2,500 companies. (Startuply, another job site for startups, lists 1,037 jobs at 957 startups.) Geographically, 37 percent of those jobs are in California. In terms of industry, 31 percent are in software.