IfM Bonn: Business start-ups of main branches create jobs
46,400 companies with a main branch were founded in the first half of 2023. This includes start-ups with an entry in the commercial or craft register – or with one or more employees. These numbers remained largely constant in comparison to the first half of 2022. Compared to the first months of 2021, however, the number fell. At that time, however, the increase was primarily due to the creation of corona testing and vaccination centres, which have now been closed again.
The founding of a main branch is essential for the national economy because it usually creates new jobs. About 16,700 of the existing businesses were sold, leased or inherited.
The number of closures of a main branch (35,000) also increased by 10% in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period of the previous year – but it remains below the level of the pre-pandemic years. As a result, the start-up balance of companies with a main branch – the difference between start-ups and liquidations – remains positive in the first half of 2023, i.e. the number of these companies has increased.
Overall, the IfM Bonn researchers assume that the current trend in commercial business start-ups and closures will continue until the end of the year. It is not foreseeable to what extent the economic slowdown will affect the labour market and, consequently, the number of new businesses. However, there are still enough attractive jobs for well-qualified specialists and managers.
No valid registration data for small and sideline businesses in 2023
The IfM Bonn compiles statistics on business start-ups and closures based on business registrations and deregistrations. It distinguishes between business start-ups and closures in the main occupation and sideline start-ups and closures. Reports not relevant to start-ups and closures (e.g. changes in legal form) are excluded from the data. As sideline start-ups were erroneously recorded as micro-business start-ups in the business registrations in the first months of 2023, the IfM researchers are currently unable to calculate valid data on the total business start-up activity for the first half of 2023.
