06/09/2020

The Businesses Hardest Hit by COVID-19

It has hit women, minorities and immigrant-run businesses the worst

The COVID-19 pandemic has hurt small businesses owned by people of color, immigrants, and women more than other groups, according to new research.

Between February and April, the number of active business owners in the country fell by 22 percent, from 15 million to 11.7 million, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) study found. The comparable number during the Great Recession was 5 percent, or 730,000 business owners, the report notes.

“The drop in business owners was the largest on record, and losses were felt across nearly all industries and even for incorporated businesses,” wrote report author Robert Fairlie, an economics professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Fast Company.