Innovation
Establishment Births and Deaths
Description: An establishment is a physical location at which business is conducted. A company (also known as an enterprise) can consist of one or more establishments.
The U.S. Census Bureau maintains a Business Register of all known business establishments in the United States. From this register it produces annual data for the nation, states, and metropolitan areas under a program known as Statistics of U.S. Businesses. The change in the number of establishments from one year to the next is divided into establishment births and deaths. Those establishments present in both years are divided into those with expanding employment and those with contracting employment. The number of employees as well as the number of establishments are reported by category, overall and by industrial sector.
The dashboard presents overall annual changes for Arizona and the nation since 1995-96. The data are slow to be released, lagging about three years.
Rationale: An environment that allows businesses to flourish also nurtures innovation. New business formation is a sign of a healthy and growing economy and therefore of the competitiveness of a particular area. Conversely, even in an innovative economy, many start-up businesses will not survive. Risks are considerable, particularly for new, innovative products.
Data Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/csd/susb/index.html.
Comments on the Quality of the Data: The data on establishment births and deaths and related measures do not exactly match the totals reported by the Census Bureau. When changes in ownership of an establishment occur, the Census Bureau is not always able to match records from one year to another.
The Statistics of U.S. Businesses program does not include establishments with no employees and excludes establishments in certain industries, particularly government and agricultural production.
