Following the rise of 28.3% in the number of bankruptcies already experienced during the first half of this year, another sharp hike was also reported in July. 24.2% more bankruptcy proceedings were started in July 2022 compared to July 2021. In percentage terms, the greatest increases were reported by the Cantons of Ticino (+228.6%), Basel-Stadt (+225%) and Valais (+161.5%). On the other hand, the number of bankruptcies fell in the Cantons of Lucerne (-29.6%) and Zurich (-11.7%).
The highest number of bankruptcy proceedings was reported by the construction industry (75), followed by the wholesale (49) and retail (42) sectors. In percentage terms, architectural and engineering firms (+146.2%), the real estate sector (+81.3%) and IT (+58.8%) experienced the sharpest rises.
Decline in new start-ups
While 2021 saw a record-breaking rise in new company start-ups, the equivalent figures fell by 3.6% in the first six months of 2022, and July saw a drop of 4.8%. The Cantons of Schwyz (-37.3%) and Thurgau (-31.2%) reported the sharpest decline.
The highest number of new start-ups in July were in the Cantons of Zurich (834), Vaud (429) and Geneva (324).
In terms of individual sectors, new start-ups were found most frequently in the retail trade (364), though this number had fallen by 6.7% compared with 2021 Next came the construction industry, with 319, and the management consultancy sector, with 310 new businesses.
About the survey process
We have taken into consideration all those businesses that were newly entered into the commercial register in the period from 1st July 2022 to 31st July 2022 , together with all the businesses against whom bankruptcy proceedings were instigated.
The full analysis can be requested from presse.ch@crif.com
