Rebound in company formations in June
The first half of 2020 was dominated globally by the Corona Lockdown. This is also reflected in the start-up figures in March, April and May in Switzerland. Start-ups fell by an average of -15% in these three months compared with the previous year.
A total of 21'822 new firms were formed in the first 6 months of 2020, which is -4% year-on-year. However, the daily analysis shows that in June 2020, their 4'445 new companies were founded, which is a strong increase of +24% more startups than in June 2019. This is encouraging news and shows that founders and startups are optimistic about the future.
Rise again after the months under Corona lockdown
The analysis of the IFJ Institut für Jungunternehmen shows that due to the imposed Corona measures in March (-6.1%), April (-25.5%) and May (-14.0%) significantly fewer companies were founded than in the previous year. However, the increase in startups in June 2020 indicates that the uncertainty among founders seems to have subsided and a further increase can be expected in the second half of the year.
Start-ups by industry
In terms of company formations by industry, private services (including hairdressing, cosmetics, education) and business services (including printing, publishing, photography, facility management) show increases of +11.7%, architecture & engineering +7.7% as well as marketing & communication +1.0% and consulting +0.3% even compared to the previous year. The largest percentage declines were recorded in the Agriculture & Forestry -18.2%, Culture & Nonprofit -16.4% and Wholesale Trade -14.4% sectors.
All relevant legal forms show a decline. With 8461 new registrations, the GmbH is still the most frequently chosen legal form, followed by the sole proprietorship (7227 new registrations), the AG (4169 new registrations) and the general partnership (657 new registrations).
Big differences in the cantons and large regions: Schaffhausen and Ticino hit hard
The major regions of Northwestern Switzerland +4.4% and Central Switzerland +0.4% enjoyed great popularity among company founders in the first half of 2020 and even set positive accents with a rebound compared to the record year 2019. The remaining major regions show fewer start-ups than in the previous year: Zurich -2.1%, Eastern Switzerland -2.3%, Espace Mittelland -3.4%, Southwestern Switzerland -8.4% and Ticino with -21.6%. Just as Ticino was hit the hardest by the Corona pandemic, the decline in the number of new companies in Ticino compared to the previous year is also relevant in a comparison of the major regions.
Despite the currently still adverse economic circumstances, 9 of the 26 Swiss cantons can look back on more startups in the first six months compared to the previous year. The cantons with the strongest percentage growth are Obwalden +26.6%, Appenzell Innerrhoden +17.5%, Basel-Stadt +10.5%, Thurgau +9.1%, Aargau +4.0%, Lucerne +3.0% as well as Solothurn +1.9%, Graubünden +1.6% and Jura with +1.2%. The cantons with percentage losses in the single digits are Schwyz -0.8%, Basel-Landschaft -0.9%, Appenzell Ausserrhoden -1.3%, Zürich -2.1%, Glarus -2.2%, Zug -2.4%, Uri -3.7%, Valais -4.0%, Bern -4.1% as well as Neuchâtel -5.5%, Fribourg -5.6%, Nidwalden -6.1%, Geneva -7.1% and St. Gallen -7.4%. Cantons with double-digit percentage declines in startups in the first half of 2020 are Vaud -11.2%, Ticino -21.6%, and Schaffhausen -24.6%.
Source: Institute for Young Enterprises (IfJ)
