January’s dilemma: fewer companies, yet more entrepreneurial optimism?

The decline in the number of companies continued last year, with 11,000 fewer operating partnerships remaining on the domestic economic map by the end of the year. The number of new liquidation procedures remained high, affecting 15,000 companies, while new formations fell below 25,000 on an annual basis. One of the most striking signs of economic difficulties was the three-year decline in the desire to start a company.

In light of all this, it may be surprising that despite the decrease in the number of companies experienced in the first month of this year – albeit by less than a thousand – January can still give some reason for optimism.

According to OPTEN data, the highest number of company formations in January in the past three years was registered this year, barely missing the 2,000 mark. This is particularly encouraging given that in previous years, January has been the weakest month in this regard. In fact, if we look at the monthly company formation data for 2023, this number would be among the six best months of the year. With the exception of education and the electricity sector, more companies were formed in almost every branch of the national economy than a year earlier.

The number of company closures in January also developed favorably, falling below 3,000, contrary to the trend of recent years. This is particularly noteworthy, since the months of January have traditionally been among the top 100 for closures. However, this year, with the exception of telecommunications and computer programming, fewer companies closed in all branches of the national economy than in January last year.