Start-ups Increase in Q2 for Tennessee

From the Tennessee Secretary of State:

More new businesses were launched last quarter than during the same period the year before – which may bode well for the state’s economy through the rest of the year.

According to the Secretary of State’s quarterly report on business and economic indicators, new business filings were up 3.7 percent for the months of April, May and June, in comparison to those same months last year.

There were 232,630 active businesses in Tennessee as of July 1 – up 3 percent over the number three months earlier.

“New business start-ups in Tennessee during this past quarter are a good indicator that employment growth will remain solid at least through the end of 2014,” said Dr. William Fox, director of the University of Tennessee-Knoxville’s Center for Business and Economic Research.

This is the second quarterly report produced jointly by the Secretary of State’s office and the Center for Business and Economic Research. The reports demonstrate the connection between business filings received by the Secretary of State’s office and key economic indicators.

“We believe the data we collect on businesses can provide important clues about the direction in which the economy may be moving,” Secretary of State Tre Hargett said. “We want to make that information available as a service to those who have interest in tracking business activity in our state.”

The reports contain data on business formations and dissolutions for nonprofit and for-profit corporations collected by the Secretary of State’s office. The reports also provide statistics on tax revenues that have been collected statewide and national numbers on housing starts, light vehicle sales, mortgage rates and other leading economic indicators.

To view the latest report online, go to: http://tn.gov/sos/be_reports/201408.pdf

Media contact: Blake Fontenay, Communications Director, (615) 253-2668 or blake.fontenay@tn.gov