Inside the business boom of 2023

US business openings have surpassed 2019 levels every month this year, thanks to an increase in travel, events and meetings.

Driving the news: New listings for stores and services on Yelp are on track to surpass the all-time high for 2022, according to a new company report released Tuesday.

• Nearly 484,000 startups appeared on the platform from January to the end of July this year, compared to about 389,000 during the same period last year. That’s an increase of about 25% year-over-year and a 46% increase over the same period in 2019.
• Openings increased across all categories and were driven nationwide by Hotel & Travel (up 39%), Home Services (up 37%), Automotive (up 27%), Event Services (up 27%) and local service businesses (up 27%). 23%).
• Within travel, the largest growth compared to last year came from RV rentals (up 84%), travel agencies (up 76%), vacation rentals (up 54%), airport transfers (up 30%) and walking tours (up 54%). fifteen%).

Zoom out: Geographically, California, Florida, Texas, New York and Georgia had the highest total number of new business openings. (Florida passed Texas this year and moved into second place after landing third in 2022.)

• And overall, while all states experienced an increase in new business openings, the East Coast states experienced the most significant percentage growth in new business compared to the same period last year. Rhode Island (up 46%), West Virginia (up 46%), Delaware (up 45%) and Vermont (up 38%) topped the list.

What they are saying: “As reasons for economic optimism grow, it’s promising to see new business growth approaching a new all-time high, with the rebound being reflected in minority-owned businesses as well,” says Yelp.

Getting closer: So far this year, each month has also seen more business openings from underrepresented communities compared to the respective month last year.

• LGBTQ-owned (up 33%), Black-owned (up 28%) and Latino-owned (up 28%) business openings grew above the national average (up 25%) compared to January to July 2023 with the same time. period last year.
• Women-owned businesses saw a 19% increase in openings and Asian-owned businesses saw a 13% increase.

What to see: How long does the economic optimism last and if the momentum continues? Banking conditions tighten. for small businesses.

Of note: Yelp business openings refer to new business listings on the platform in a given period of time.

• Business owners or Yelp users can add listings. And new business data may be delayed due to the time it takes to report and verify job openings, Yelp says.

Go deeper: CEO optimism is trickling down