Monthly estimates of business openings and closures, March 2024

Released: 2024-06-24

In March, the business opening rate declined by 0.2 percentage points to 4.4%, following a 0.2 percentage point contraction in February. The opening rate in March was 0.3 percentage points below the 2015-to-2019 historical average rate of 4.7%. In contrast, the closure rate held steady at 4.7% in March 2024, after a 0.1 percentage point increase in February. The closure rate in March was just above the historical average rate of 4.6%. As a result of the decline in business openings, the number of active businesses in March 2024 dropped by 0.2% (-1,725 active businesses), following almost no change in February.

The decline in the opening rate in March was driven by a decrease in both the reopening and entry rates. The reopening rate dropped by 0.1 percentage points to 2.8%, just below the 2015-to-2019 historical average rate of 2.9%. Similarly, the entry rate dropped by 0.1 percentage points to 1.6%, below the historical average rate of 1.8%.

The decline in business openings during March 2024 was widespread across sectors. The decrease in openings was led by construction (-793 openings compared with February 2024; 41.9% contribution to the overall number of declines), followed by accommodation and food services (-205; 10.8%), and professional, scientific and technical services (-174; 9.2%).

Although the overall business closure rate was almost unchanged in March, the number of business closures increased slightly or stayed constant across sectors. In March, the three sectors with the most business closures were construction (+247 business closures compared with February; 30.3% contribution to the overall number of closures), followed by retail trade (+109; 13.4%) and health care and social assistance (+90; 11.0%).

Chart 1 
Percent contribution of sectors to the decline in openings and the increase in closures, February 2024 to March 2024, seasonally adjusted data

Contact information

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