{"schemaVersion":"1.0","id":"rs-2026-004","slug":"business-applications-by-industry-retail-july-2026","title":"Business Applications by Industry: Retail Made Up 43.1% of the U.S. Increase — July 2026","headline":"Retail Business Applications Rose 47.7% in a Year — 43.1% of the U.S. Increase","summary":"Retail Trade had 161,695 U.S. business applications in July 2026. It had 109,480 in July 2025. The increase was 52,215 applications, or 47.7%. Retail made up 43.1% of the net U.S. increase.","published":"2026-08-13","modified":"2026-08-13","status":"published","supersedes":null,"supersededBy":null,"topic":{"slug":"business-formation","label":"Business formation"},"subtopics":["business applications by industry","Retail Trade","year-over-year growth"],"country":"United States","geographyLevel":"National","geographies":["United States"],"period":"July 2026","metric":"Industry share of the year-over-year net increase in U.S. Business Applications","provenance":{"primarySources":[{"agency":"U.S. Census Bureau","dataset":"Business Formation Statistics","period":"July 2025 and July 2026","role":"Business Application counts by industry and United States total","dataUrl":"https://www.census.gov/econ/bfs/csv/bfs_monthly.csv"},{"agency":"U.S. Census Bureau","dataset":"BFS Monthly Data Dictionary","period":"Current","role":"Definitions for monthly fields, Business Applications and industry classifications","url":"https://www.census.gov/econ/bfs/pdf/bfs_monthly_data_dictionary.pdf"},{"agency":"U.S. Census Bureau","dataset":"Business Formation Statistics","period":"Current","role":"Methodology, source documentation and revision notices","url":"https://www.census.gov/econ/bfs/index.html"}],"contextSources":[]},"transformation":{"calculationType":"calculated","formula":"July 2026 applications − July 2025 applications; industry increase ÷ U.S. increase × 100","filters":["United States","Business Applications / BA_BA","July 2025","July 2026","not seasonally adjusted","same current Census data vintage","published industry sectors"],"transformations":["Calculate each industry's change: July 2026 applications − July 2025 applications.","Calculate each industry's year-over-year percentage change.","Calculate each industry's share of the national net increase: industry increase ÷ total U.S. increase × 100.","Preserve full precision internally.","Display percentages to one decimal place."]},"findings":[{"claim":"Retail Trade Business Applications in July 2025","value":109480,"unit":"business applications","geography":"United States"},{"claim":"Retail Trade Business Applications in July 2026","value":161695,"unit":"business applications","geography":"United States"},{"claim":"Retail Trade year-over-year increase","value":52215,"unit":"business applications","geography":"United States"},{"claim":"Retail Trade year-over-year growth","value":47.7,"unit":"percent","geography":"United States"},{"claim":"U.S. Business Applications in July 2025","value":513667,"unit":"business applications","geography":"United States"},{"claim":"U.S. Business Applications in July 2026","value":634735,"unit":"business applications","geography":"United States"},{"claim":"U.S. year-over-year increase","value":121068,"unit":"business applications","geography":"United States"},{"claim":"U.S. year-over-year growth","value":23.6,"unit":"percent","geography":"United States"},{"claim":"Retail Trade share of the U.S. year-over-year net increase","value":43.1,"unit":"percent","geography":"United States"}],"limitations":["Business Applications are not confirmed business openings.","This article compares July 2026 with July 2025.","One year of data does not prove a long-term trend.","The Census Bureau can revise past Business Formation Statistics.","In 2026, Census moved the industry series to the 2022 NAICS system.","The article uses the current Census values for both years.","The comparison is descriptive.","The data do not establish why retail application activity rose."],"keywords":["business applications by industry","new business applications by industry","retail business applications","U.S. business applications","Census Business Formation Statistics","BFS","business application growth","business applications July 2026"],"aliases":["Business Applications by NAICS sector","Business Formation Statistics","BA_BA","new business applications","startup applications","applications by industry"],"citation":"RecurSave. “Retail Business Applications Rose 47.7% in a Year — 43.1% of the U.S. Increase.” RecurSave Research, August 13, 2026.","canonicalUrl":"https://www.recursave.com/research/business-applications-by-industry-retail-july-2026","hasDataset":true,"industryApplicationRows":[{"industry":"United States","july2025Applications":513667,"july2026Applications":634735,"yearOverYearChange":121068,"yearOverYearPercent":23.6,"shareOfUsYearOverYearChangePercent":100,"isTotal":true},{"industry":"Retail Trade","july2025Applications":109480,"july2026Applications":161695,"yearOverYearChange":52215,"yearOverYearPercent":47.7,"shareOfUsYearOverYearChangePercent":43.1},{"industry":"Professional Services","july2025Applications":66525,"july2026Applications":84727,"yearOverYearChange":18202,"yearOverYearPercent":27.4,"shareOfUsYearOverYearChangePercent":15},{"industry":"Construction","july2025Applications":45145,"july2026Applications":51819,"yearOverYearChange":6674,"yearOverYearPercent":14.8,"shareOfUsYearOverYearChangePercent":5.5},{"industry":"Administrative and Support","july2025Applications":34987,"july2026Applications":41658,"yearOverYearChange":6671,"yearOverYearPercent":19.1,"shareOfUsYearOverYearChangePercent":5.5},{"industry":"Accommodation and Food Services","july2025Applications":27808,"july2026Applications":33875,"yearOverYearChange":6067,"yearOverYearPercent":21.8,"shareOfUsYearOverYearChangePercent":5},{"industry":"Other Services","july2025Applications":41218,"july2026Applications":46775,"yearOverYearChange":5557,"yearOverYearPercent":13.5,"shareOfUsYearOverYearChangePercent":4.6},{"industry":"Transportation and Warehousing","july2025Applications":33781,"july2026Applications":39337,"yearOverYearChange":5556,"yearOverYearPercent":16.4,"shareOfUsYearOverYearChangePercent":4.6},{"industry":"Real Estate","july2025Applications":23857,"july2026Applications":28309,"yearOverYearChange":4452,"yearOverYearPercent":18.7,"shareOfUsYearOverYearChangePercent":3.7},{"industry":"Health Care and Social Assistance","july2025Applications":32573,"july2026Applications":36940,"yearOverYearChange":4367,"yearOverYearPercent":13.4,"shareOfUsYearOverYearChangePercent":3.6},{"industry":"Information","july2025Applications":10211,"july2026Applications":14497,"yearOverYearChange":4286,"yearOverYearPercent":42,"shareOfUsYearOverYearChangePercent":3.5},{"industry":"Educational Services","july2025Applications":7899,"july2026Applications":9706,"yearOverYearChange":1807,"yearOverYearPercent":22.9,"shareOfUsYearOverYearChangePercent":1.5},{"industry":"Manufacturing","july2025Applications":6942,"july2026Applications":8533,"yearOverYearChange":1591,"yearOverYearPercent":22.9,"shareOfUsYearOverYearChangePercent":1.3},{"industry":"Management of Companies","july2025Applications":6055,"july2026Applications":7216,"yearOverYearChange":1161,"yearOverYearPercent":19.2,"shareOfUsYearOverYearChangePercent":1},{"industry":"Finance and Insurance","july2025Applications":21371,"july2026Applications":22225,"yearOverYearChange":854,"yearOverYearPercent":4,"shareOfUsYearOverYearChangePercent":0.7},{"industry":"Arts and Entertainment","july2025Applications":15704,"july2026Applications":16522,"yearOverYearChange":818,"yearOverYearPercent":5.2,"shareOfUsYearOverYearChangePercent":0.7},{"industry":"Wholesale Trade","july2025Applications":10149,"july2026Applications":10724,"yearOverYearChange":575,"yearOverYearPercent":5.7,"shareOfUsYearOverYearChangePercent":0.5},{"industry":"Agriculture","july2025Applications":3638,"july2026Applications":3796,"yearOverYearChange":158,"yearOverYearPercent":4.3,"shareOfUsYearOverYearChangePercent":0.1},{"industry":"Unclassified","july2025Applications":15139,"july2026Applications":15196,"yearOverYearChange":57,"yearOverYearPercent":0.4,"shareOfUsYearOverYearChangePercent":0},{"industry":"Mining","july2025Applications":499,"july2026Applications":537,"yearOverYearChange":38,"yearOverYearPercent":7.6,"shareOfUsYearOverYearChangePercent":0},{"industry":"Utilities","july2025Applications":686,"july2026Applications":648,"yearOverYearChange":-38,"yearOverYearPercent":-5.5,"shareOfUsYearOverYearChangePercent":-0.03}],"metaDescription":"Retail business applications rose from 109,480 in July 2025 to 161,695 in July 2026. Retail made up 43.1% of the U.S. increase."}