In the first quarter in Connecticut, business closings were 17 percent below their levels a year earlier, according to new figures released by the secretary of state”™s office.
Business startups were also lower, albeit at a less dramatic pace of 0.8 percent.
“The numbers ”¦ are encouraging and show that more Connecticut businesses have been able to prosper and avoid shutting down,” said Susan Bysiewicz, Connecticut secretary of state, in a prepared statement. “A year ago, many entrepreneurs were fearful for their own survival, but one year later the picture has brightened somewhat, meaning fewer businesses are shutting their doors and hopefully more jobs are being spared.”
In the first quarter of 2010, nearly 3,000 businesses filed paperwork to dissolve their companies ”“ including more than 1,300 in March ”“ compared with nearly 3,600 closings in the first quarter of 2009 and nearly 3,900 in the fourth quarter last year.
Connecticut saw almost 6,900 new business starts in the first quarter of 2010, with the largest number filing papers to incorporate in March. While that was down slightly from the first quarter of 2009, it was far above the totals in last year”™s fourth quarter, when about 5,400 companies launched.
“We are still not seeing the number of new business start-ups we want to see but that too is improving,” Bysiewicz said. “It is my sincere hope that the sharp decline in business closures will also be reflected in a reduction in Connecticut”™s unemployment rate in the coming months. Overall, the economic decline is clearly abating but we have yet to see the healthy signs of a full recovery.”
