New Business Applications
Business Applications, from the Census Bureau's Business Formation Statistics, counts the applications for a new Employer Identification Number filed each month — the leading edge of new-business creation. The post-2020 surge to ~430-550k a month marked a structural step-up in US entrepreneurship that has largely held.
Applications YoY %
- Applications / mo
- 578926
Next release: Sep 11, 2026
Latest reading
As of July 2026, Business Formation (Applications YoY %) stands at 23.4% — up from 15.8% the prior reading, 88.3 pp below the April 2021 record of 111.6%. New-business formation is a forward-looking read on economic dynamism and future hiring — startups are net job creators. Rising applications point to optimism and risk-taking; a sustained slowdown signals caution. Read the year-over-year rate, since the series is seasonal and stepped sharply higher after 2020. Series history runs from 2005 to present.
Sources, methodology & freshnessLast updated 2026-08-21 · Open ↓Close ↑
Full history
Year-over-year %
Month-over-month %
The latest-month change in new-business applications — the higher-frequency momentum read behind the year-over-year rate.
Applications per month
The raw monthly count of new-business applications. The post-2020 step-up to ~430–550k a month is the structural shift; the year-over-year view above is the cyclical read.
Methodology & data
Business Formation is sourced from Census via the Federal Reserve's FRED service (Census Bureau via FRED (BABATOTALSAUS), monthly, seasonally adjusted). We pull the complete history, chart it on a monthly basis, overlay SPY for context, and generate a dated plain-English reading from the latest release — with no smoothing or adjustment beyond what the chart legend states.
Every reading is stamped with its release date, last updated 2026-08-21. Maintained and reviewed by Yuriy Matso; see our methodology for the standards every series on the site is held to.
Frequently asked questions
What is the New Business Applications?
Business Applications, from the Census Bureau's Business Formation Statistics, counts the applications for a new Employer Identification Number filed each month — the leading edge of new-business creation. The post-2020 surge to ~430-550k a month marked a structural step-up in US entrepreneurship that has largely held.
How do you read Business Formation?
New-business formation is a forward-looking read on economic dynamism and future hiring — startups are net job creators. Rising applications point to optimism and risk-taking; a sustained slowdown signals caution. Read the year-over-year rate, since the series is seasonal and stepped sharply higher after 2020.
Where does the Business Formation data come from?
Census Bureau via FRED (BABATOTALSAUS), monthly, seasonally adjusted. We chart the full history and publish a dated, plain-English reading with every release; the raw series is downloadable as CSV at /data/indicators/business-applications.csv.
How often is Business Formation updated?
Business Formation is a monthly series from Census, refreshed here as soon as a new release posts to FRED.
Applications YoY %
- Applications / mo
- 578926
Next release: Sep 11, 2026