30 Oct 2012

Number of businesses down slightly

12:44 pm on 30 October 2012

The number of businesses is down slightly.

Official figures show 469,000 firms at February 2012, a decrease of 0.8% compared with the previous year.

All regions fell except Wellington.

Auckland region accounts for almost a third of all business locations, while another quarter are in the South Island/

The number of new business start-ups fell 11% and business closures rose 2%.

The survival rates of businesses is similar to previous years, with four in five businesses surviving their first year of operation, and almost 30% surviving 10 years.