- A new survey finds 43% of U.S. small businesses are fighting for survival in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Additionally, 24% of businesses surveyed have already closed on a temporary basis, and a further 40% say they will have to close soon without help.
The fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic is threatening the existence of almost half of U.S. small businesses, a new survey by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and MetLife has found.
The findings from the survey are stark. Alarmingly, 43% of U.S. small businesses say that without some kind of cash infusion or a dramatic change in economic conditions, they will have to permanently close within 6 months. Of businesses surveyed, 24% say they have already closed down on a temporary basis. Of the businesses still open, 40% say they will have to close within 6 months.
Many businesses are pinning their hopes on a speedy roll-out of the Small Business Administration’s forgivable loan program which is part of the massive $2 trillion dollar stimulus package passed by Congress. The SBA’s loan program will disburse up to $350 billion to small business applicants in need.
The survey comes in the wake of devastating unemployment numbers across the country. Stock indexes have also been hit historically hard, indicating a bleak macroeconomic picture going forward, despite the Federal Reserve’s monumental, but ultimately ineffectual efforts to stem the economic tide.
The closures could hit employment even harder than has already been shown. The SBA notes that small businesses make up 49.2% of all private-sector employment and 64% of net new private-sector jobs in the U.S.
Without aid to workers, the economic well-being of families across the country could be in imminent danger.
Categories: Business
Economic Left 
Leave a Reply