NC shatters record for new business creation with 129,000+ so far this year

Entrepreneurs across North Carolina continue to create new businesses, setting an annual record of more than 129,000. And most of these firms are not being launched due to loss of a job.

So reports North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall.

And that record total comes with nearly four months remaining this year. Marshall projects that new businesses will top 180,000 this year.

“North Carolina continues its torrid pace of new business creations during this new era of entrepreneurship,” Marshall said in a statement. “The Secretary of State’s Office has put into place additional technology solutions to reduce customer errors in online filings in order to speed up a new business’s effort to get up-and-running.”

As of Sept. 13, Marshall’s office had received and processed 2,000 more than the previous record of 127,000 new businesses formed in 2020. That number was a 27% increase over 2019.

NC Secretary of State office graphic

More than 8 in 10 of respondents to a survey told the Secretary of State’s office that they were launching a business to capitalize on an opportunity.

“Our survey findings point toward a new era of entrepreneurship, with 81% ofrespondents indicating they launched their businesses in search of new opportunities, while just 12% report starting their new businesses as a result of job losses during the pandemic,” Marshall said in a July report.

However, information about the types of business and how many jobs might be created is difficult to determine at this time, a spokesperson for Marshall said. More details will be available once the new companies file annual reports.

In that July survey, Marshall’s office reported that 89% of new businesses a year earlier remained in business. Of those, 22% reported having three or more employees.

Original Source: WRAL TechWire