Jan 29, 2024 - News
The number of businesses formed in North Carolina continues to grow
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Unlike most of the Southeast, North Carolina is still seeing an uptick in new businesses.
By the numbers: New business applications — which represent all types of businesses, from landscaping to software — increased by 6.5% last year, up to 14,400.
- While the number is up year-over-year, it is still slightly below the peak that North Carolina experienced in 2021.
Why it matters: Business formation rates are an excellent indicator of economic sentiment — few people try to start a company when they foresee bad times ahead.
- Breaking down this data state by state can offer a regionalized barometer of economic sentiment.
Yes, but: New business applications can only capture the financial mood among Americans with the means to start a company.
- Those less well-off likely have a less rosy view of things.
- Many younger Americans, for example, are stressed out about their finances, and renters are much more likely to say they're in bad financial shape compared to homeowners, per recent findings from our ongoing Axios Vibes/Harris Poll surveys.
Plus: Just because somebody files paperwork to start a business doesn't mean that enterprise ever gets off the ground and hires people.
- Still, even when looking only at businesses that the Census Bureau identifies as having a high chance of employing people, new business applications were up 5.7% in North Carolina between December 2022 and December 2023.