The State of Swyft Industry Report, an analysis of business trends conducted by Swyft Filings, determined that Minnesota ranks fourth in the country for states with the highest year-over-year growth rate among its business industries.
 
Delaware-based Swyft Filings is owned by Travis Crabtree, a counsel with the law firm Gray Reed & McGraw, LLP, and offers streamlined business filing services. In its recently published report, it looked at how 18 major industries have grown in terms of new businesses created across the country and on a state-by-state basis from 2016 to 2017.
 
Compared with other states, Minnesota’s year-over-year growth rate of businesses created was bested only by North Dakota, Ohio, and Arkansas. For volume of new businesses, Minnesota ranked 7^th.
 
Retail took the crown for largest annual growth in new businesses. The industry grew by roughly 153 percent, the report said. Minnesota’s rental and leasing (up 125 percent) and health care (up 122 percent) finished out the top three.
 
By comparison, the state reported drops in its social assistance industry (down 28.6 percent), food service (down 18.8 percent) and real estate (down 9.5 percent).
 
The largest quantities of new businesses created within Minnesota came from its construction, retail and consulting industries.
 
Nationally, insurance, finance and technology saw the lowest growth rate, while construction, health care and transportation grew the most.
 
Consulting had the highest volume of new businesses overall throughout the country in 2017, followed by retail, then construction.
 
The report also pointed out that industries in Minnesota which hadn’t experienced growth in 2016 but did last year included manufacturing, accommodations and warehousing.
 
Overall, Swyft Filings found two major trends currently driving change and strategy moving into 2018: empowered consumers and technology shifts, according to a statement preceding the data.
 
“While some industries are thriving in providing consumers with a unique experience, others are less primed to keep pace,” the statement read. “Overwhelmingly, the hot trends of 2017 highlight the importance of curating and individualizing services to better meet the growing demand of the informed consumer.”