Here is The Oregonian’s weekly look at the numbers behind the state’s economy. View past installments here.
Oregonians keep starting new businesses despite the coronavirus pandemic.
The state’s rate of new business formation has remained relatively constant since Oregon’s coronavirus shutdown began in March, according to U.S. Census data, down just 4% from the same period in 2019.
That’s a contrast to prior downturns in the 1980s and during the Great Recession, according to Josh Lehner of the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis. Comprehensive data on businesses closures isn’t yet available, but Lehner said preliminary numbers indicate shutdowns are increasing but not at an alarming rate.
“So far the data points toward a rise of business closures but no real decline in new business formation,” Lehner wrote in an analysis last week. “While not good, this would still be better than those past severe recessions, and be less of a drag in recovery.”
There’s no indication that Oregon venture capital activity is falling off.
The latest data out this month from industry research firm PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association shows that Oregon startups raised $166 million last spring and another $111 million during the summer. That’s perfectly in line with historic averages over the past six years.
The Great Recession coincided with a kind of startup renaissance in Oregon. With fewer jobs available at big tech companies, engineers appeared more open to setting out on their own or joining new businesses at the early stage.
A half-dozen prominent technology businesses emerged in the immediate aftermath of that downturn, among them Airship (formerly Urban Airship), Puppet, Elemental Technologies, Jama Software and Zapproved.
There’s no sign of a similar downturn in tech employment during the coronavirus recession, at least not yet, but there’s also no signal that startup activity is dropping off, either. Last week, for example, Albany startup Agility Robotics raised $20 million in new investment.
-- Mike Rogoway | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699