Cranston's New Business Openings Jumped Last Year

At least 234 new businesses opened in Cranston last year, according to new data released by the Rhode Island Secretary of State's office.

The data is based on yearly corporate filings tracked by the Secretary of State's office. The numbers include restaurants, contractors and landscapers.

"The economy has had a traumatic few years, so let’s be careful about reading too much into this data. The pain isn’t over, but there are signs that things may be turning around,” said Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis.

The year-over-year increase is the first since 2007. Growth plummeted from 2008 to 2010 as Rhode Island slowly crawls out of the economic downturn and struggles with a stubborn unemployment rate. Statewide, 6,846 new businesses filed with the state, representing very modest growth over last year's figure of 6,778. Considering there were 7,837 in 2007, the state still is far from recovered.

A further sign that things are still coming into alignment: 6,627 corporate entities went out of business last year — a 7 percent increase over 2010. The worst year was 2008, when a record 7,071 companies went out of business.

“The state’s economic troubles have taken a terrible toll on Rhode Islanders. We can only hope the worst is behind us,” Mollis said, noting he was "surprised" to see such an improvement this year.

According to a release, the secretary of state's office is often the first place entrepreneurs go when they're thinking about starting a new business. The office runs "The First Stop Business Information Center" that help people apply for financing, get permitted and make government contacts.

“We cut red tape, offer free consulting services and created e-commerce tools to reduce paperwork. We’re focused on making it easier to start a business in Rhode Island,” Mollis explained.