{
  "schema_version": "1.1",
  "id": "census-business-applications-534947-sept-2026",
  "slug": "census-business-applications-534947-sept-2026",
  "url": "https://groundedkit.com/claims/census-business-applications-534947-sept-2026/",
  "api_url": "https://groundedkit.com/api/claims/census-business-applications-534947-sept-2026.json",
  "claim": "US business applications were 534,947 in September 2026 (seasonally adjusted)",
  "commonly_cited_as": "\"Over half a million new business applications a month\"",
  "verdict": "verified",
  "verdict_definition": "Primary source found; it says the same thing, the scope matches, and it is reasonably current.",
  "confidence": "high",
  "rating": {
    "value": 5,
    "best": 5,
    "worst": 1
  },
  "origin": {
    "publisher": "U.S. Census Bureau",
    "title": "Business Formation Statistics (release CB26-163, Oct. 14, 2026)",
    "year": "2026"
  },
  "quote": "Business Applications for September 2026, adjusted for seasonal variation, were 534,947, an increase of 0.5 percent compared to August 2026.",
  "method": "Count of EIN applications filed with the IRS, seasonally adjusted. Projected business formations within 4 quarters were 29,022 for the same month.",
  "drift": [
    "Applications are not businesses; only a small share become employers (29,022 projected formations)"
  ],
  "interest": "n/a (federal statistical agency).",
  "safe_rephrasing": "Census counted 534,947 seasonally adjusted US business applications in September 2026; it projects only about 29,000 of that month's applications to become employer businesses within a year.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Census — Business Formation Statistics",
      "url": "https://www.census.gov/econ/bfs/current/index.html",
      "primary": true
    }
  ],
  "kind": "reference_fact",
  "as_of": "September 2026",
  "last_checked": "2026-10-16",
  "stale": false,
  "date_reviewed": "2026-10-16",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0",
  "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}