Business formations fall 4% in 1Q

BUSINESS FORMATIONS in Rhode Island fell nearly 4 percent in the first quarter from the first quarter of 2012, with 70 fewer businesses registering in the first three months of 2013.  / COURTESY THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
BUSINESS FORMATIONS in Rhode Island fell nearly 4 percent in the first quarter from the first quarter of 2012, with 70 fewer businesses registering in the first three months of 2013. / COURTESY THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE

PROVIDENCE – After two consecutive years of year-over-year first-quarter increases in business formation, the number of new businesses created during the first three months of 2013 fell nearly 4 percent compared with the first quarter of 2012, Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis announced Monday.

From January through March, 1,906 new business entities registered with the Secretary of State’s office, a nearly 4 percent drop from the 1,976 that registered during the first quarter of 2012.

“The economy has been giving off mixed signals for awhile, so this shouldn’t be viewed with alarm. The only thing we may be able to read into this is that many people still have confidence in Rhode Island’s long-term potential,” said Mollis in prepared remarks.

The release from the Secretary of State’s office called the first-quarter results a “modest contrast” to what the office reported for the 2012 calendar year, when the number of new business filing increased for two consecutive years for the first time since 2007.

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Most newly formed business entities in Rhode Island choose a corporate structure that requires registering with the Secretary of State’s office. Across the state, more than 70,000 limited liability companies, for-profit and nonprofit corporations are currently registered.

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