Issue Brief: Southwest Florida Business Applications
October 04, 2024 / RERI Research Team
Issue Brief: Southwest Florida Business Applications
Business applications are an important leading indicator for gauging the health of a regional economy. They offer insight into entrepreneurial activity and business creation, both of which contribute to local job opportunities. However, obtaining relevant data on business applications at the regional level can be challenging due to data limitations. The U.S. Census Bureau provides information through its Business Formation Statistics (BFS), but county-level data from the BFS is only available annually and is released with a six-month lag. For instance, business applications data for 2023 was only released in June 2024.
In this issue brief, we use data from the Florida Department of State as an alternative way to estimate business applications in Southwest Florida. One key advantage of using Florida Department of State data is its timeliness; unlike BFS data, which operates on a six-month lag, this data is updated daily, allowing for more immediate insights into local business activity. We first outline the methodology used for identifying and cleaning data from the Florida Department of State. Next, we evaluate the robustness of the estimates by comparing our results to data from the BFS, both at a state level and a workforce region level. Finally, we conclude by illustrating the estimated number of seasonally-adjusted business applications in Southwest Florida.
The results show a high correlation between data from the U.S. Census Bureau and our estimates. This was true at both a state level and workforce region level. Furthermore, we find that Southwest Florida had 8,392 seasonally-adjusted business applications during the second quarter of 2024. This was 3 percent above the previous quarter but a 2 percent decrease compared to the same quarter last year.
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Issue Brief: Southwest Florida Business Applications
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