U.S. Business Openings on Yelp Surge Well Above Pre-Covid Levels

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Business openings surged past 150,000 last quarter in the U.S., according to Yelp Inc. data, signaling that the burst in entrepreneurship that started during the pandemic is getting even stronger.

In the face of high inflation and supply-chain woes, new business owners are jumping on opportunities created by the reopening of offices and easing of Covid-related restrictions. 

Hotels and travel, nightlife, and beauty salons saw the biggest gains in openings last quarter. The number of new restaurants and food businesses dropped slightly from a year earlier -- but they’re still 5% above pre-Covid level, according to Yelp. 

The move back to the office also created a growing need for pet boarding and dog walking. During the pandemic, an estimated 23 million households acquired a pet, or roughly one in five households. Pet-store openings increased 20% nationally last quarter, according to Yelp.

Many businesses closed permanently at the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, but an outsize number of entrepreneurs also created new ones, even during the first year. The rise in new businesses back in 2020 was probably partly by driven people who had lost their jobs and were looking for alternatives. The 2022 entrepreneurs are opening theirs in a tight labor market and recovering economy.

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