It’s often assumed that when the economy takes a dive, there is a spike in laid-off workers launching new ventures. A study released this week surprisingly found otherwise, CNNMoney.com reported.

A study by the Kauffmann Foundation looked at a 30-year period between 1977 and March 2009 and found that new business formations remained consistent over the years. The data, based on U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, included a look at formally established new enterprises, new franchise locations and other outposts of existing companies.

Most years about 600,000 new businesses were formed, with only mild fluctuations year to year. Despite many sharp changes in economic conditions, there was little effect on the number of new businesses, according to researchers Dane Stangler and Paul Kedrosky of the Kauffmann Foundation.

The two researchers pointed to two possible explanations for the consistency. One, even in poor economic times, the United States economy is relatively stable and two, the number of working-age adults in the workforce fluctuates little.

Despite the common thought that a majority of current Fortune 500 companies were launched during tough economic times, the Kauffmann Foundation has research that shows more than half of 2009’s Fortune 500 companies were started in bear markets. (see the research)