Hustle culture
A swathe of fledgling entrepreneurs have taken the plunge and set up their own companies, with review site Yelp counting a record number of new business openings last year. All told, Yelp tallied a total of 762,200 new ventures in 2023, representing a 20% uptick on 2022.
The data confirms a similar finding from analysis of governmental filings, which has revealed a pandemic-inspired "entrepreneurship boom", as an increasing number of Americans take their economic fates into their own hands.
Golden handcuffs
The Yelp report categorizes the new businesses by industry, finding a particular boom in the home services sector, with hundreds of new endeavors set up across carpentry (up 54%), masonry and concrete services (up 40%), and contractors (up 33%). Those new companies might be looking to capitalize on the “golden handcuff” phenomenon, as sky-high mortgage rates and property prices leave people investing in their current homes, rather than moving to new ones.
Elsewhere, the leisure sector also saw a resurgence, with the number of new hotels and travel services up 28% on last year and restaurant openings up 10%, with major boosts for creperies and hot pot spots, which were up 63% and 53%, respectively.
Related reading: Yesterday's better-than-expected 3.3% US GDP growth and rising consumer sentiment suggests the US economy is holding up well.
