Last year, 2.6 million new businesses were opened in the country, 14% more than in 2017, according to a survey by Boa Vista based on data from the Federal Revenue Service. Most new businesses (77.3%) are businesses in the form of individual microentrepreneurs (MEIs). Flávio Calife, Boa Vista's economist and head of the survey, estimates that the number of MEIs has exceeded the average of the total number of employees. the companies opened at the same time because of the still very slow reaction of the labor market to the opening of vacancies destroyed by the crisis. When the composition of new businesses by sector is evaluated, the service comes first with 58.7%, followed by trade with 32.9%. Caliph says the service has been run because it is the most flexible sector of the economy. For the regions of the country, the largest share of new businesses is in regions with higher economic activity, such as South East (15.6%) and South (14.9%). However, the North region remained in the limelight, representing only 2.1% of the total number of companies opened during the period.
