55,000 new businesses opened their doors in Israel in 2018, while 45,000 closed down. Over half of the businesses that closed are small businesses, Yisrael Hayom reports, quoting a Dun and Bradstreet report.

According to the report, 40% of businesses closed in 2018 operated less than five years. About 22% of businesses closed in 2018 were active for less than two years.

In addition, most of the businesses that closed during the first two years of their activity were in retail, mainly shops and cafes, snack bars and restaurants.

In total, there are about 590,000 active businesses in the Israeli economy, about 51% of whom do not employ workers.

Dun & Bradstreet, which analyzed the data, noted that the three events that had the most significant impact on business in the past year were (1) the slowdown in housing starts, (2) the substantial and continuing increase in online purchases and (3) purchases abroad, which are also related to the low exchange rate against the shekel.

Businesses with the greatest risk increase in 2018 were the construction industry with 7.3%, building management companies with 5.9%, fashion stores with 5.8%, and cafes and restaurants with 5.6%.

Businesses with the greatest decline in risk in 2018 are trucking and storage services with 4.9%, and hairdressers with 4.5%.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)