Business Start-Ups Slow in 3rd Quarter

Ventura County’s fast pace of business starts slowed considerably during the third quarter, a public records information service reported.

There were 152 new businesses incorporated with the secretary of state during the July-September period. That was down 20.4% from 191 for the second quarter, according to Santa Ana-based CDB Infotek. Ventura County showed the sharpest decline in the incorporation of businesses of the six Southern California counties, which showed a combined 5.8% drop.

The statewide figure was down 4.5% for the third quarter from the previous three months.

Despite the third-quarter slowdown, California this year has seen the strongest business growth of the decade, CDB reported.

“The state’s economic growth has slowed somewhat during recent months,” said Rick Rozar, CDB Infotek’s president. “Many of the professionals who were displaced by corporate downsizing and restructuring have now found new jobs. A lot of those people had been starting their own businesses.”