A recent report is looking at the U.S. metropolitan areas that have seen the largest increase in new business applications. The pandemic caused hundreds of thousands of American businesses to permanently shut their doors. Still, between 2019 and 2020, there was a nearly 25 percent increase in new business applications in the U.S., and that increase held relatively steady through 2021.
A real-time survey of business applications conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau offers encouraging results: the increase in business shutdowns combined with changes in consumer preferences created gaps for new entrants to fill, resulting in a strong resurgence of new businesses. Between 2019 and 2020, there was a nearly 25 percent increase in new business applications, and that increase has held relatively steady through 2021. About one-third of current applications are considered “high-propensity applications,” or those with a high likelihood of turning into a business with payroll.
Researchers at Self Financial, a credit report company, calculated the percentage change in new business applications from 2019 to 2020, and ranked metros accordingly.
The analysis found that in 2019, the Little Rock metropolitan area received 8,202 new business applications. In 2020, that number increased to 11,132 applications.
Here is a summary of the data for the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area:
- Percentage change in business applications (2019-2020): +35.7%
- Total change in business applications (2019-2020): +2,930
- Total business applications in 2020: 11,132
- Total business applications in 2019: 8,202
For reference, here are the statistics for the entire United States:
- Percentage change in business applications (2019-2020): +24.2%
- Total change in business applications (2019-2020): +848,210
- Total business applications in 2020: 4,356,870
- Total business applications in 2019: 3,508,660
For more information, a detailed methodology and complete results, you can find the original report here.
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