10.5% Of Georgia Workers Are Business Owners, 13th Most in the U.S.
Monday, April 18th, 2022
Self-employed entrepreneurs account for 10% of all workers, according to 2020 data from the U.S. Census Bureau. But whether born out of necessity or desire, an increasing number of workers are taking the plunge and starting their own businesses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. After an initial drop in new business applications in early 2020, monthly business applications soared to record levels, and the most recent data shows that applications remain significantly higher than they were a few years ago.
 The recent escalation in new business formation is due to several factors. First, as many businesses cut back operations or shut their doors completely, a wave of newly-unemployed workers opened their own businesses in response. Additionally, a combination of business closures, supply chain problems, and changing consumer preferences created space in the market for new types of businesses to enter. Quit rates also reached record levels in recent months, as many workers have been driven by the pandemic to reassess their careers and start something of their own. In total, new business applications increased by nearly 25% in the first year of the pandemic, but nearly a third of all applications were concentrated in two sectors: retail trade and professional, scientific, and technical services. Retail trade applications numbered 824,840 in 2020, or 19% of all applications. Professional service applications numbered over half a million, roughly 12% of the total. Recent research from the University of Maryland indicates that the increase in new business applications has been driven largely by non-employer firms—such as sole proprietors, partnerships, or limited liability companies without employees.
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