Charted: U.S. Business Growth By Industry (2019-2024)
(Click on image to enlarge)
Key Takeaways
- The information industry witnessed a 58% growth in the number of business establishments between December 2019 and September 2024, the fastest increase nationally.
- By contrast, natural resources and mining saw the slowest growth, rising at just 4% over the period.
- Overall, four industries exceeded the 19% national average growth rate in new businesses, largely found in service-oriented sectors.
Business creation in America has jumped 19% in the past five years, with new tech startups launching at the fastest rate.
Over the past three decades, small businesses generated about 60% of new jobs in the U.S., serving as a critical pillar in the economy. However, a significant share of this growth was driven by a narrow group of firms.
This graphic shows business growth by industry, based on data from J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
Where is Business Growth Rising the Fastest?
Below, we show the growth in business establishments over the past five years:
| Industry | Growth in Business Establishments (Dec 2019 – Sep 2024) |
|---|---|
| Information | 58% |
| Professional and business services | 32% |
| Education and health services | 25% |
| Service-providing | 20% |
| Other services | 18% |
| Financial activities | 18% |
| Construction | 14% |
| Manufacturing | 13% |
| Goods-producing | 12% |
| Leisure and hospitality | 11% |
| Trade, transportation and utilities | 7% |
| Natural resources and mining | 4% |
| Total | 19% |
As we can see, the information industry has seen threefold the national average growth rate in new business establishments since late 2019.
Along with this, it stands as one of the top two leading sectors driving real GDP growth in 2025. In particular, software publishing firms saw among the fastest growth in establishments across industries between 2019 and 2023, while data processing, hosting, and related activities followed next.
With a 32% increase in new companies, professional and business services witnessed the second-highest growth. Meanwhile, education and health services experienced a 25% increase.
Interestingly, new business applications stood at 240,000 on average each month in 2024—50% higher than in 2019. Going further, the share of entrepreneurship among women and people of color hovered near record highs.
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