New business applications slow amid pandemic

Missouri ranked poorly on a new study ranking states by new business applications amid the COVID-19 crisis.

On the list published yesterday by financial data tracking firm SmartAsset, Missouri ranked as the sixth-worst state. Through the examination of U.S. Census Bureau data, SmartAsset compared new business applications through mid-April with the five-year average between 2015 and 2019.

Missouri recorded 2,820 new business applications through mid-April, a roughly 19% drop from an average of 3,480 new businesses 2015-19.

New York was the worst-ranked state on the list. New business applications through mid-April came to 7,100, a 24% fall compared with the five-year average. The best-performing state, according to SmartAsset, was Delaware. Its new business applications increased by nearly 12% compared with the five-year average.

For the four weeks ending April 19, less than 7,000 new business applications were filed across the country, a drop from the 2015-19 average of 10,000, according to the study.