According to the new Quarterly Business and Economic Indicators report issued by the Secretary of State’s office, Tennessee experienced the second largest number of new entity filings for a second quarter in the 24-year history of data being collected.
“Tennessee continues its robust record of new business creation and attracting firms to relocate in our state,” said Secretary of State Tre Hargett. “Our state leaders continue to maintain a business environment that encourages investment and jobs. In fact, Tennessee’s economy grew at the highest rate of any state in the nation last year.”
The largest number of second quarter filings in history was in 2021, which contributed to the current year-over-year number of filings declining by 1.3%. This was the first year-over-year decline in over 10 years despite the second quarter of 2022 being an excellent quarter.
In the second quarter of 2022, 19,719 new entities filed. To put the strength of that quarter in perspective, the total was 59% higher than the second quarter of 2020 and 71% higher than in 2019. Tennessee’s unemployment also stayed at 3.3%, below the national rate of 3.6%
A high level of business filings typically leads to growth in jobs, personal income and state revenue. The largest number of filings in the second quarter were in Davidson County, followed by Shelby, Knox and Hamilton counties. Although these four most-populous counties saw fewer filings than a year ago, they accounted for 44.6% of new filings state-wide.
In Tennessee’s other 91 counties, filings grew year-over-year by 6.9%, reflecting continued success in fostering prosperity across the state.
“Tennesseans are still starting businesses at a historically high level, and that means nothing but good things for employment and personal income here in Tennessee,” said Don Bruce, director of the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research. “If you’re comparing current employment levels to pre-pandemic times in February 2020, over 93,000 more Tennesseans have jobs than before—this robust business environment will continue to foster strong tax revenue growth for the state."
The Quarterly Business and Economic Indicators report provides a snapshot of the state’s economy based on key indicators, including new business data from the Secretary of State’s Division of Business and Charitable Organizations. It is published through a partnership with the University of Tennessee Knoxville’s Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research and the Secretary of State.
To review the complete Q2 2022 Tennessee Quarterly Business and Economic Indicators report, past reports and a teleconference recording about the report with Secretary Hargett and Dr. Bruce visit, sos.tn.gov.