In May 2022, despite a decrease in the business opening rate (from 4.9% in April to 4.7%) and an increase in the business closure rate (from 4.4% to 4.6%), the number of active businesses grew slightly by 0.1% (+757), as there were more openings than closures. This business dynamic was widespread across provinces, although the decline in the number of businesses was mainly driven by Ontario. Transportation and warehousing (-0.5%; -277) was the lone industry where the number of active businesses decreased in May 2022.
Both the business opening and closure rates were equal to their 2015-to-2019 historical averages in May 2022. Furthermore, the opening rate and its components have been stable since March 2021. Indeed, the opening, reopening and entry rates have been within 0.2 percentage points of their historical averages.
The series on temporary business closures and exits (or "permanent closures") has now been updated to include data up to November 2021. The exit rate dropped slightly to 1.5% after holding steady at 1.6% from August to October 2021. The exit rate has been lower than or equal to its 2015-to-2019 average of 1.7% since December 2020.
In November 2021, the exit rate held steady or changed little compared with October in all industries. Transportation and warehousing (2.8% exit rate vs. 1.5% historical average) and real estate and rental and leasing (2.5% vs. 1.9%) continued to post the highest exit rates across industries. Along with arts, entertainment and recreation (1.8% exit rate vs. 1.5% historical average), these were the industries where the exit rates were furthest from their historical averages.
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