D.C. business applications are still up versus 2019, but slowing down compared to early pandemic
In the first year of the pandemic, a bright spot in D.C.’s economy was an uptick in start-up businesses. High propensity business applications were up by 8 percent in 2020 the previous year. The trend continued into 2021, with applications up by 37 percent in June 2021 compared to June 2019. Most likely, business owners who were greatly impacted by the pandemic were rebranding, taking advantage of lower cost space in the District, and/or beginning to recover. Now, business applications in D.C. are still high relative to 2019, but slowing down relative to earlier in the pandemic.