[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":3,"doc-seo-305435-105":53,"doc-detail-305435-en":126},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,14,19,24,29,34,39,44,49],{"id":8,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":11,"show_sort_weight":12,"slug":13},11,1,"Template","Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":15,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":16,"show_sort_weight":17,"slug":18},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":20,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":21,"show_sort_weight":22,"slug":23},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":25,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":26,"show_sort_weight":27,"slug":28},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":30,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":31,"show_sort_weight":32,"slug":33},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":35,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":36,"show_sort_weight":37,"slug":38},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":40,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":41,"show_sort_weight":42,"slug":43},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":45,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":46,"show_sort_weight":47,"slug":48},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":50,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":51,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":52},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":54,"data":55},"ok",{"site_id":56,"language":57,"slug":58,"title":59,"keywords":60,"description":61,"schema_data":62,"social_meta":119,"head_meta":121,"extra_data":123,"updated_unix":125},105,"en","entrepreneurship-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-evidence-from-the-business-formation-statistics","Entrepreneurship During the COVID-19 Pandemic - Evidence from the Business Formation Statistics","","New business applications from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Business Formation Statistics declined sharply at the pandemic’s outset, then surged through the second half of 2020 and continuing into May 2021. Application volume and momentum since mid-2020 reach the highest pace on record, involving both likely new employers and nonemployers. Sector effects are uneven: ten 3-digit NAICS industries explain most of the increase, consistent with pandemic-driven restructuring.",{"@graph":63,"@context":118},[64,80,101],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":51,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/general/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/entrepreneurship-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-evidence-from-the-business-formation-statistics/305435/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"image":82,"author":87,"headline":59,"publisher":90,"fileFormat":93,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":94,"datePublished":95,"encodingFormat":93,"isAccessibleForFree":96,"interactionStatistic":97},"DigitalDocument",{"url":83,"@type":84,"width":85,"height":86},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/entrepreneurship-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-evidence-from-the-business-formation-statistics/305435.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":88,"@type":89},"Ethan Miller","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-09-20","2026-09-19",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":73},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",{"@type":102,"mainEntity":103},"FAQPage",[104,110,114],{"name":105,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":107},"How did new business applications change during the early pandemic period?","Question",{"text":108,"@type":109},"Applications fell substantially in the early stages of the pandemic before later turning upward.","Answer",{"name":111,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What explains the rapid increase in applications after mid-2020?",{"text":113,"@type":109},"The surge persisted through May 2021 and involved both likely new employers and nonemployers, with most of the increase concentrated in a limited set of NAICS industries.",{"name":115,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How do the document’s patterns compare with the Great Recession?",{"text":117,"@type":109},"Unlike the Great Recession—when applications and actual employer startups declined sharply and persistently—the pandemic period shows a later surge in new business applications.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":120,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":91,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":122,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":124,"site_id":56},305435,1789824904,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":127},{"doc_id":124,"user_id":128,"nickname":88,"user_avatar":129,"doc_module":9,"category_id":50,"category_name":51,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":130,"file_id":131,"file_url":132,"file_type":133,"file_size":134,"view_count":73,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":135,"language":136,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":137,"faqs":138,"seo_title":139,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":125,"read_time":25},687207017582,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_994ba38a5ba835b3df7d355c54d3ed8d","Entrepreneurship During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from the Business Formation  \nStatistics 1  \nBy  \nJohn Haltiwanger  \nJune 2021  \nAbstract  \nApplications for new businesses from the U.S. Census Bureau’s monthly and weekly Business Formation Statistics (BFS) fell substantially in the early stages ofthe pandemic but then surgedin the second half of 2020. This surge has continued through May 2021. The pace of applications since mid-2020 is the highest on record (earliest data available is 2004) . The large increase in applications is for both likely new employers and nonemployers. These patterns contrast sharply with those in the Great Recession when applications for likely new employer businesses and in turn actual startups of employer businesses declined sharply and persistently. The surge in new business applications has been uneven across sectors. Ten 3-digit NAICS industries account for 75% of the surge. Dominant industries include Nonstore Retail (alone accounting for 33% of the surge), Professional, Scientific and Technical Services, Truck Transportation, and Accommodation and Food Services. Given that existing small businesses in Retail Trade and Accommodation and Food Services have suffered especially large declines in the pandemic, these patterns are consistent with restructuring induced by the pandemic.  \n1 University of Maryland and NBER. This paper, without implication, draws on collaborative research with numerous colleagues I have worked with in the development and analysis of the Business Formation Statistics (BFS) . The research and development papers for the BFS with these colleagues are cited extensively in the text and included in the references. This paper uses only public domain data from the BFS and other sources. Thanks to Lucia Foster, Josh Lerner, Scott Stern, and participants at the 2021 NBER Conference on Entrepreneurship and Innovation Policy and the Economy for helpful comments on an earlier draft and to Chris Roudiez for excellent research assistance. The views expressed in the paper are those of the author alone.  \nThe COVID-19 induced recession (henceforth COVID-19 Recession) began with an extraordinarily large contraction in economic activity. The net employment contraction between February and April 2020 exceeded 20 million for total nonfarm employment. Since then, employment has recovered substantially but as of April 2021 is still more than 8 million below the level in February 2020.2 The massive contraction and recovery have been very uneven. Existing small businesses have been hit especially hard especially in sectors such as Accommodations and Food Services, Health Services, and Other Services where remote work and remote interactions between businesses and consumers are difficult. Even in sectors that have experienced a net increase in jobs from February 2020 to early 2021 such as Finance and Insurance, existing small businesses have exhibited indicators of negative net growth, business sentiment and recovery through early 2021.3  \nThis characterization of existing small businesses being hit very hard with only limited recovery contrasts with the patterns of new business applications from the Business Formation Statistics (BFS) . After an initial sharp decline from late March through May, new business applications started to surge by June 2020. This surge has continued through May 2021. Overall, calendar year 2020 is the highest year on record for new business applications since  \n2004 (the first year the BFS is available) .4 The surge in new business applications in 2020 and  \n2 Statistics from [www.bls.gov](www.bls.gov) for Current Establishment Survey total non-farm employment.  \n3 See Buffington et al. (2021) for details about this characterization of the impact on existing small businesses. The evidence briefly summarized here is from the Census Small Business Pulse Survey (SBPS) discussed at length in this paper. Fairlie (2020) presents evidence that existing small businesses ","cbCaidL8y73rUWqO","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaidL8y73rUWqO","pdf",3300166,44,"English","# Abstract\n## Application trends during 2020-2021\n## Sector composition of the surge\n## Contrast with the Great Recession and existing small businesses","[{\"question\":\"How did new business applications change during the early pandemic period?\",\"answer\":\"Applications fell substantially in the early stages of the pandemic before later turning upward.\"},{\"question\":\"What explains the rapid increase in applications after mid-2020?\",\"answer\":\"The surge persisted through May 2021 and involved both likely new employers and nonemployers, with most of the increase concentrated in a limited set of NAICS industries.\"},{\"question\":\"How do the document’s patterns compare with the Great Recession?\",\"answer\":\"Unlike the Great Recession—when applications and actual employer startups declined sharply and persistently—the pandemic period shows a later surge in new business applications.\"}]","Entrepreneurship During the COVID-19 Pandemic - Evidence from the Business Formation Statistics | PDF"]