In September 2018, the Office of Advocacy published a fact sheet titled, “Small Business Facts: Business Dynamics.” In this fact sheet, research economist Daniel Wilmoth, PhD, describes the rates at which establishments have been opening and closing.
Almost all of the business establishments that open and close each year employ fewer than 20 workers. At the end of 2017, the number of establishments with employees that had opened in the past year exceeded the number that had closed by about 118,000. With a net contribution of about 38,000 establishments, California alone accounted for nearly a third of the national increase. Annual openings have exceeded closings for the last 28 consecutive quarters.