According to the CBS were over 140 thousand business closures in 2020, which is over 20 per cent more than in 2019 when the number of business closures was 115 thousand. An increase was also seen in cleaning, only it was not as large compared to the total number. Indeed, 1,145 cleaning companies were closed down in 2019. This is 115 fewer than in 2020, a relative difference of 10 per cent.
Annual increase lifted cleaning companies
The number of companies closing down each year in the cleaning industry is fairly stable, with an outlier here and there. Recent years have seen an increase, though. In 2017, for instance, there were only 975 company closures. The number of dissolved cleaning companies has increased by over 29 per cent in three years.
Many self-employed people
The bulk of the number of company closures can be traced to organisation with one employed person or less. Of the total number of cleaning companies that were dissolved, as many as 1,090 were cleaning companies with up to one employed person.
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
| 690 | 865 | 1130 | 1245 | 1370 | 1470 | 1170 | 1135 | 900 | 1010 | 790 | 860 | 950 | 1090 |
Total number of companies increased
The number of business closures rose overall for the third year in a row. Moreover, as the number of business start-ups was higher than ever and the number of bankruptcies was very low, the total number of businesses increased in 2020. In cleaning, the number of companies also increased, by as much as 15 per cent. Thus, Clean Total earlier on from CBS figures.
470 restaurants lifted
Most business closures with more than 1 person employed in 2020 were among restaurants, at 470, about 10 per cent more than a year earlier. Also, 450 cafeterias, lunchrooms, snack bars, ice cream parlours and other food stalls also quit. The industries with the most business closures with more than 1 person employed in 2020 include relatively many catering businesses, but also include internet retailing in third and sixth place. Although pubs are also in the top 10 in 2020, the number of business closures with more than 1 person employed in this industry does not differ much from previous years.
English (UK)