The latest data on the U.S. economy is mixed, but generally positive—and that includes data on the jewelry industry.

Some 323 North American jewelry businesses—271 retailers, 32 wholesalers, and 20 manufacturers—closed in the first half of 2023, an 18% drop from the first half of 2022, according to the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT). All those discontinuances were in the United States, except for 13 in Canada.

A company has a discontinuance, JBT says, when it ceases operations, is merged or acquired, or files for bankruptcy.

The new statistics reverse a trend of increasing closures. On the other hand, the number of companies entering the industry—which showed growth in the previous JBT report—fell 21% in the first half of 2023, from the same period the year before.

During the first six months of this year, JBT recorded 229 new jewelry businesses in the United States—more than two-thirds of them retailers, the rest wholesalers or manufacturers. The largest number opened in the Northeast (71), followed by the Southeast (62), the Southwest (37), the South Central region (31), North Central (20), and the Northwest (8).

Overall, JBT stats reflected continued industry consolidation. Its database listed 23,424 U.S. jewelry businesses at midyear, around a 2.3% decrease from 2022. That breaks down to 17,760 retailers, 3,394 wholesalers, and 2,270 manufacturers.

(Photo: Getty Images)

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