This is a 54.5% decrease from the previous quarter when there were 11 licenses issued.
Pennsylvania suffered a surge of unemployment and business closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The average annual unemployment rate in the state more than doubled in 2020 to 9.1 percent. This was the highest annual unemployment rate in Pennsylvania since 2003. Since then, the unemployment rate has been decreasing, reaching 4.3 percent in early 2023.
Comparison of business licenses issued by County and Quarter
| County | Issued in Q3 2023 | Issued in Q2 2023 | Percentage change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allegheny County | 22 | 40 | -45% |
| Armstrong County | 4 | 2 | 100% |
| Beaver County | 2 | 2 | 0% |
| Berks County | 4 | 5 | -20% |
| Blair County | 5 | 1 | 400% |
| Bucks County | 15 | 37 | -59.5% |
| Butler County | 1 | 2 | -50% |
| Cambria County | 2 | 3 | -33.3% |
| Cameron County | 1 | 4 | -75% |
| Centre County | 2 | 6 | -66.7% |
| Chester County | 10 | 23 | -56.5% |
| Clearfield County | 2 | 0 | - |
| Crawford County | 2 | 1 | 100% |
| Cumberland County | 7 | 8 | -12.5% |
| Dauphin County | 5 | 11 | -54.5% |
| Delaware County | 11 | 14 | -21.4% |
| Elk County | 1 | 0 | - |
| Erie County | 5 | 6 | -16.7% |
| Fayette County | 3 | 1 | 200% |
| Franklin County | 2 | 1 | 100% |
| Indiana County | 1 | 0 | - |
| Jefferson County | 2 | 1 | 100% |
| Lackawanna County | 7 | 12 | -41.7% |
| Lancaster County | 1 | 12 | -91.7% |
| Lawrence County | 5 | 5 | 0% |
| Lebanon County | 1 | 1 | 0% |
| Lehigh County | 8 | 7 | 14.3% |
| Luzerne County | 2 | 7 | -71.4% |
| McKean County | 1 | 0 | - |
| Mifflin County | 3 | 1 | 200% |
| Monroe County | 3 | 4 | -25% |
| Montgomery County | 20 | 35 | -42.9% |
| Montour County | 1 | 0 | - |
| Northampton County | 3 | 4 | -25% |
| Philadelphia County | 48 | 128 | -62.5% |
| Schuylkill County | 1 | 4 | -75% |
| Tioga County | 1 | 0 | - |
| Union County | 2 | 1 | 100% |
| Washington County | 2 | 3 | -33.3% |
| Wayne County | 1 | 0 | - |
| Westmoreland County | 5 | 11 | -54.5% |
| York County | 7 | 15 | -53.3% |
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