After showing five negative balances between 2014 and 2018, the difference between the number of inbound and closed enterprises was positive in 2019, reaching 290.9 thousand. Part of that positive balance can be related to the fact that, in 2019, Enterprises Demography, which is based on the data of the Central Register of Enterprises (CEMPRE), began to also include information from eSocial, which will gradually replace data from RAIS.

The entry rate of enterprises was 20.2% (or 947.3 thousand) in 2019, being 15.5% of new enterprises (or 726.5 thousand) and 4.7% of re-entry ones (or 220.8 thousand). The exit rate stayed at 14.0% (or 656.4 thousand enterprises).

The highest balance of enterprises was registered in Professional scientific and technical activities (61,388 enterprises) and Human health and social services (44,294 enterprises).

The highest exit rates occurred in Amapá (22.0%), Maranhão (20.3%) and Roraima (18.2%) and the lowest ones, in Santa Catarina (10.7%), Rio Grande do Sul (12.6%) and Espírito Santo (12.8%).

The 4.7 million active enterprises in 2019 had 5.2 million local units, from which 50.5% were located in the Southeast.

In 2019, the survival rate was 79.8% (or 3.7 million enterprises), below that of 2018 (84.1%).

Between 2018 and 2019, the number of active enterprises increased 6.6%, whereas salaried employed personnel grew 2.4% (774.8 thousand).

Concerning entrepreneurship, the number of high-growth enterprises reached 25,011 in 2019, an increase of 10.0% over 2018. High-growth enterprises represented 1.1% of the enterprises with salaried employed personnel and 5.4% of the enterprises with 10 or more salaried persons in Brazil. They employed 3.3 million salaried persons and paid R$94.6 billion in salaries and other compensation, with a monthly average salary of 2.5 minimum wages.

These are some of the highlights of the Enterprises Demography and Statistics of Entrepreneurship 2019, which analyzes the enterprise dynamics through indicators of entry, exit, re-entry and survival of enterprises, as well as high-growth enterprises and gazelles, among others.

In 2019, the Central Register of Enterprises (CEMPRE) added up to 4.7 million active enterprises that employed 39.7 million people, being 33.1 million (83.3%) as salaried persons and 6.6 million (16.7%) as partners or owners. The average age of the enterprises was 11.7 years.

The salaries and other compensation added up to R$1.1 trillion, with a monthly average salary of 2.5 minimum wages, the equivalent to R$2,530.76.

Of the total number of active enterprises in 2019, 79.8% (3.7 million) were surviving enterprises and 20.2% (or 947.3 thousand) were inbound enterprises (that entered in the list of active enterprises in 2019).

Of the 947.3 thousand inbound enterprises in 2019, 15.5% (or 726.5 thousand) were births and 4.7% (or 220.8 thousand), enterprises that re-entered in the list of active enterprises. On the other hand, nearly 14.0% (or 656.4 thousand) of the enterprises considered active left the market in 2019.

In 2019, the Demography of Enterprises and Entrepreneurship, which is based on the data of the Central Register of Enterprises (CEMPRE), began to incorporate the information from the System of Digital Bookkeeping of Fiscal, Social Security and Labor Obligations (eSocial), which is gradually replacing the Annual List of Social Information (RAIS). As a result, methodological adjustments were carried out to select active units from this edition onwards.

2019 has the first positive balance since 2013: more 291 thousand enterprises

In 2019, the balance of enterprises, i.e., the difference between entries and exits, reached 290.9 thousand, the first positive balance after five years. The increase in the number of inbound enterprises (from 697.1 thousand in 2018 to 947.3 thousand in 2019) contributed to that reversal, as well as the reduction of exits (from 762.9 thousand in 2018 to 656.4 thousand in 2019).

As a result, the entry rate rose from 15.9% to 20.2% within a year, whereas the exit rate dropped from 17.4% to 14.0% in the period. The table below details such movements, as well as it shows the five negative balances occurred between 2014 and 2018.

It should be highlighted that part of the positive balance of 2019 can be related to the fact that, as of this year, the Demography of Enterprises began to incorporate the information from eSocial, replacing the data from RAIS.

Survival rate is higher among larger enterprises

The survival rate changed accordingly to the size of the enterprises. Between 2014 and 2019, the enterprises that were born without salaried employed personnel registered a survival rate of 32.1%; the enterprises between one and nine salaried persons recorded a rate of 49.1% and those with ten or more salaried persons reached 64.5%.

The study also analyzed the survival of local units in the 5-year period. Of the 755 thousand local units of enterprises born in 2009, 41.6% survived (were active) in 2014. Among the Federation Units, Amapá posted the lowest survival rate (28.9% of local units) and Santa Catarina, the highest one (49.3%).

New enterprises have lower percentage of persons with higher education

In the active enterprises in 2019, men were the majority of the employed and salaried population (60.6%) against 39.4% of women. The share of women was similar in the surviving enterprises (39.3%), as well as in those that entered (41.3%) and left (42.7%).

In the events of entry and exit of enterprises, the share of employees with higher education was 8.4% and 7.5%, respectively, whereas the share in surviving enterprises was 14.7%, a difference of up to 7.2 percentage points.

Of the total number of employees in high-growth enterprises, the number of professionals with higher education changed from 9.6% to 15.0% between 2009 and 2019, which represented an advance of 5.4 percentage points. That change moved from 10.2% to 15.8% in the enterprises with ten or more salaried employed persons, i.e., more 5.6 percentage points.

Professional, scientific and technical activities registered the highest balance of enterprises

Considering the economic activities, the biggest highlight was Professional, scientific and technical activities, a sector that includes independent professionals and that recorded one of the highest entry rates (27.2%) and the highest balance of enterprises (61,388 enterprises).  Human health and social services significantly contributed to the balance of 44,294 enterprises, mainly leveraged by the inbound business activities of outpatient care, carried out by physicians and odontologists.

North registered the highest entry rate of local units and Northeast, the highest exit rate

The 4.7 million active enterprises had 5.2 million local units, from which 50.5% were located in the Southeast. It was followed by the South (22.5%), Northeast (14.9%), Central-West (8.4%) and North (3.7%) regions.

In four regions, the entry rate surpassed the national average: North (23.3%), Northeast (20.9%), Southeast (20.8%) and Central-West (22.3%). The South (18.3%) was the exception. Concerning the exit rates, the Northeast (17.4%), North (16.9%) and Central-West (15.0%) surpassed the national average (14.0%).

In the Federation Units, the highest entry rates occurred in Amazonas (26.9%), Acre (23.9%), Mato Grosso and the Federal District, both with 23.8%.. Conversely, Rio Grande do Sul (17.0%), Santa Catarina (18.9%) and Minas Gerais (19.1%) recorded the lowest rates.

The highest exit rates were in Amapá (22.0%), Maranhão (20.3%) and Roraima (18.2%). The lowest exit rates were in Santa Catarina (10.7%), Rio Grande do Sul (12.6%), Espírito Santo (12.8%) and Paraná (13.2%)

The survival of local units born in 2009 was also analyzed. Only 22.9% survived up to 2019 and only 41.6% up to 2014. Among the Federation Units, the survival rates in the fifth year of life varied from 28.9% in Amapá to 49.3% in Santa Catarina. The North showed the highest gap: 43.0% in Rondônia against 28.9% in Amapá. In the Southeast, Minas Gerais (40.9%) recorded the lowest rate and Rio de Janeiro (43.4%), the highest one.

Surviving enterprises created 9% of new local units and 30.8% of new jobs

The surviving enterprises participated with 9.0% (95.4 thousand) of the total number of inbound local units in 2019 (1.1 million), signaling a regional expansion. The surviving enterprises also accounted for nearly one third (30.8%) of the salaried personnel of the inbound local units.

The study also highlighted that the size and average salary of the local units opened by surviving enterprises were higher. While the monthly average salary of the 1.1 million inbound local units was R$1,709.87, the units that came from surviving enterprises paid a monthly average salary 15.5% higher (R$1,974.98).

High-growth enterprises increased between 2018 and 2019

Among the active enterprises with salaried employed personnel, only 1.1% were high-growth enterprises, though they were responsible for 9.9% of all the salaried personnel. The survey showed that the pace of expansion of the number of high-growth enterprises remained: in 2018, the growth was of 11.9% and, in 2019, the increase was of 10.0%, adding up to 25,011 enterprises. They employed 3.3 million salaried persons and paid R$94.6 billion in salaries and other compensation, with a monthly average salary of 2.5 minimum wages.

In 2008, high-growth enterprises represented 8.3% of the entities with 10 or more salaried persons, a proportion that continuously declined up to 2017, when it hit 4.5%. With the increase registered in 2019, that share rose to 5.4%.

In the high-growth enterprises in 2019, men were the majority of the employed salaried population (62.6%) against 37.4% of women. The figures were similar among the enterprises with ten or more salaried persons - 62.2% and 37.8%, respectively.

To remain growing organically was not that simple. Considering the high-growth enterprises in the 2008-2014 period, on average, only 5.7% repeated that condition after five years and only 3.5% did that ten years later.

11.2% of the high-growth enterprises were gazelles

In 2019, 2,805 enterprises were gazelles (high-growth enterprises with up to five years of age) that employed 214.3 thousand salaried persons. In 2019, both variables increased: 8.0% in the amount of gazelles and 7.8% in the amount of salaried persons.