The East Midlands business birth rate has decreased for the third time in a row.
Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that in 2018, 12.0 per cent of all businesses in the region were new.
It means one in every eight businesses active in the East Midlands in 2018 were created that year.
That was down from 12.3 per cent of businesses in 2017, 14.0 per cent of businesses in 2016, and 15.1 per cent in 2015.
However, while fewer businesses are being started, fewer are closing down as well.
In 2018, around one-in-10 East Midlands businesses ceased to trade – down from 12.6 per cent in 2017.
New businesses launched also dropped across the UK, with 12.9 per cent of all businesses operating in 2018 set up during the year – down from 13.1 per cent in 2017.
The number of new businesses being created fell from 382,000 to 381,000 over the year.
Again, it was the second decrease in a row.
Meanwhile, the number of business going under nationally also decreased, from 362,000 in 2017 to 336,000 in 2018.
London had the highest business birth rate at 15.9 per cent, whereas the North West had the highest death rate at 13.5 per cent.
