By Mary Rose Corkery
Daily Caller News Foundation
The coronavirus pandemic has led to the largest drop in small business ownership in the United States, according to a June study from an economic research organization.
3.3 million business owners lost their jobs, with 22% as a result of coronavirus restrictions, reported Axios, citing a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper. In the whole Great Recession of 2008, small business owners shrank by 730,000 at 5%, the study noted.
Of the 3.3 million, 1.1 million small business owners were black, according to the study. Black business owners shrank from 1.1 million to 640,000 — a 41% difference.
TRENDING: Charlie Daniels: God’s in control, but owning a 12-gauge doesn’t hurt
Latino business owners represented the second largest loss at 32% from February to March 2020, the study showed. Asian business owners were at 26%, and 17% white business owners the study continued.
“These findings of early-stage losses to small businesses have important policy implications and may portend longer-term ramifications for job losses and economic inequality,” Professor Robert W. Fairlie wrote in the study. Fairlie is the author of the study and an economics professor at the University of California Santa Cruz.
Based on “monthly files” data of the Current Population Survey (CPS), small businesses qualified for the study if they were self-employed individuals working “at least 15 hours” a week. 15 million business owners were working in February 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, leaving 11.7 million small business owners three months later, April 2020.
Fairlie did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment
More than 100,000 businesses permanently closed by mid-May 2020, a study found, according to The Washington Post. The Small Business Administration ran out of funds for the Paycheck Protection Program on April 16. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin tweeted his hope the recent legislation will “ensured continued operations.”
The Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act gives businesses more time and flexibility to keep employees on the payroll and ensure their continued operations as we safely reopen our country. https://t.co/FHdlpTmKVl
— Steven Mnuchin (@stevenmnuchin1) June 8, 2020
The losses from small business owners due to coronavirus were four times than the small business owners losses of the Great Recession, according to Axios.
This story originally was published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected]
