Connecticut business closings slowed in the first quarter, but even with fewer new firms opening in the period some economic observers point to bright spots in the Secretary of the State’s latest business-start survey.
There were 2,961 businesses filing paperwork to shut their doors in the January-March period, down 17.4 percent from the 3,477 closings the same period in 2009, Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz said Friday.
 New business filings totaled 6,894 in the first quarter, down 0.8 percent from 6,941 starts a year ago, her office said.
“A year ago, many entrepreneurs were fearful for their own survival,” Bysiewicz said in a statement. “But one year later the picture has brightened somewhat, meaning fewer businesses are shutting their doors and hopefully more jobs are being spared. We are still not seeing the number of new business start-ups we want to see but that too is improving.”
Economist Donald Klepper-Smith, chairman of the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers, said in the report that Connecticut is showing signs that economic recovery is taking root.
Klepper-Smith alluded to the March Connecticut employment survey released Thursday showing the state gained jobs for the third consecutive month, adding 3,000 last month.
“Smaller job losses and reduced business failures,” he said, “are generally leading economic indicators, and strongly suggest that Connecticut’s economy is likely to improve as we move through the balance of 2010.”
