Startups are thriving in the Covid-19 era

One unexpected benefit of the pandemic: a boom in entrepreneurship. According to the Census Bureau, companies founded between 2020 and 2022 added 7.4 million jobs by the end of 2022, and many continue to do so despite labor shortages, high inflation and other obstacles. Applications for new businesses have dropped thanks to high interest rates, but are still much higher than before the pandemic. Pandemic-driven companies that survive current obstacles could lead the U.S. out of what researchers call a “decades-long entrepreneurial collapse,” making the economy “more productive and adaptable.”