34,685: The number of company start-ups in Austria was also high in the previous year. According to the Chamber of Commerce, the entrepreneurial spirit is unbroken.
According to the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKÖ), the number of start-ups in Austria remained high last year. With 34,685 start-ups, there was a slight decrease of 2.3 percent compared to the previous year, but 2021 was an “outlier” due to the corona-related lag effects from the Covid year 2020. Among other things, the Chamber of Commerce calls for a flat-rate funding model and a participation allowance.
The provisional data from 2022 (excluding the profession of self-employed caregivers) shows the second highest number of start-ups since 1993 – after 2021 – and corresponds to 133 start-ups per working day.
“Despite all mega-challenges: The entrepreneurial spirit in Austria is unbroken,” said Mariana Kühnel, deputy general secretary of the WKÖ, according to the press release. The start-up statistics for 2021 were an “outlier”, “founding is proving to be crisis-resistant. It is therefore remarkable “that the high level was almost maintained.”
45.1 of start-ups by women
These are provisional data without the occupation of self-employed caregivers. According to the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKÖ), the consistently high proportion of female founders is also pleasing. 45.1 percent of the start-ups were women, which was (after 2021) the second highest proportion since 1993. The average age of the founders was around 36 years. The motives for self-employment are constant: 71.2 percent of the founders said they wanted to be flexible in their time and lifestyle, 69.7 percent had wanted to be self-employed for a long time and have now done so, and around two-thirds wanted responsibility for themselves take over companies.
According to the Chamber of Commerce, the service life remains at a “gratifyingly high level” as in previous years. 95 percent of the companies exist after one year, around 80 percent after three years and 66 percent after five years.
In terms of legal form, according to the provisional data (excluding the profession of self-employed partnerships), sole proprietorships (75.7 percent; 81 percent including registered sole proprietorships) predominated. The GmbH remained in second place with 14.6 percent.
If you rank the new companies by division or industry, trade and crafts came first with a share of 40.8 percent. It was followed by trade (25.8 percent), information and consulting (19.9 percent), tourism and the leisure industry (7.7 percent) and transport and traffic (5.6 percent) as well as the industry and banking and insurance sectors (0 .2 percent).
Chamber of Commerce calls for a flat-rate funding model
The Chamber of Commerce is demanding a flat-rate subsidy model, a participation allowance and improvements in unemployment insurance for the self-employed. The cost pressure is increasing massively and is pushing companies of all sizes to their limits. The support presented so far would fall short, especially for one-person companies and founders. The flat-rate subsidy model as a supplementary measure to the energy cost subsidy, which was presented to the Council of Ministers at the end of September, is a suitable means of protecting these companies.
Furthermore, the WKÖ is committed to the introduction of a participation allowance in the form of an income tax credit of at least 100,000 euros per investor in the long term. “If you want a strong location, you have to create the best possible conditions for founders and young entrepreneurs,” says Kühnel. The implementation of a participation exemption would be the right measure here so that young companies can grow. When it comes to improvements in unemployment insurance for the self-employed, the WKÖ calls for, among other things, an extension of the entry option from 6 to 24 months and additional entry options.
(WHAT)
