If there’s a silver lining to the COVID recession, it’s this: A lot more people are starting businesses. During the third quarter of 2020, about 1.6 million applications were filed to form businesses in the U.S., according to Census data. That’s double the amount filed during the third quarter of 2019. In Florida, 176,255 applications were filed in the third quarter, about 85% higher than the same time period in 2019.
Some of the third quarter surge may be explained by backlogs due to office closures earlier in the year. Still, the fourth quarter saw 1.1 million applications nationwide, a decrease from the previous quarter but still 25% more year over year.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau