The U.S. Census Bureau released new Business Formation Statistics for March 2026, according to an April 8 announcement. The data provide information on new business applications and formations in the United States and Puerto Rico.
The Business Formation Statistics are important because they offer timely insights into economic activity by tracking how many new businesses are being created each month. This information helps policymakers, researchers, and the public understand trends in entrepreneurship and economic growth.
According to the Census Bureau, the BFS is a standard data product developed in collaboration with economists from several institutions including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, the University of Maryland, and the University of Notre Dame. The dataset includes twelve series: four related to applications and eight related to formations. These statistics are available monthly at national, regional, and state levels.
For Puerto Rico, four monthly business application series are included as part of this standard release. The BFS provides both seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted data for users who require different types of analysis.
There was no accompanying news release for this announcement; instead, it was distributed as a tip sheet only.
