Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Winter;29(4):727-740.
doi: 10.1111/jems.12400. Epub 2020 Aug 27.

The impact of COVID-19 on small business owners: Evidence from the first three months after widespread social-distancing restrictions

Robert Fairlie  1
Affiliations

The impact of COVID-19 on small business owners: Evidence from the first three months after widespread social-distancing restrictions

Robert Fairlie. J Econ Manag Strategy. 2020 Winter.

Abstract

Social-distancing restrictions and health- and economic-driven demand shifts from COVID-19 are expected to shutter many small businesses and entrepreneurial ventures, but there is very little early evidence on impacts. This paper provides the first analysis of impacts of the pandemic on the number of active small businesses in the United States using nationally representative data from the April 2020 Current Population Survey-the first month fully capturing early effects. The number of active business owners in the United States plummeted by 3.3 million or 22% over the crucial 2-month window from February to April 2020. The drop in active business owners was the largest on record, and losses to business activity were felt across nearly all industries. African-American businesses were hit especially hard experiencing a 41% drop in business activity. Latinx business owner activity fell by 32%, and Asian business owner activity dropped by 26%. Simulations indicate that industry compositions partly placed these groups at a higher risk of business activity losses. Immigrant business owners experienced substantial losses in business activity of 36%. Female business owners were also disproportionately affected (25% drop in business activity). Continuing the analysis in May and June, the number of active business owners remained low-down by 15% and 8%, respectively. The continued losses in May and June, and partial rebounds from April were felt across all demographic groups and most industries. These findings of early-stage losses to small business activity have important implications for policy, income losses, and future economic inequality.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Number of active business owners in the United States (January 2000–June 2020) [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of active business owners by gender before and after COVID‐19 [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
Figure 3
Figure 3
Number of active business owners by race/ethnicity before and after COVID‐19 [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
Figure 4
Figure 4
Number of active business owners by nativity before and after COVID‐19 [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Bartik, A. W. , Bertrand, M. , Cullen, Z. B. , Glaeser, E. L. , Luca, M. , & Stanton, C. T. (2020). How are small businesses adjusting to COVID‐19? Early evidence from a survey. NBER Working Paper No. w26989.
    1. Beland, L.‐P. , Fakorede, O. , & Mikola, D. (2020). The short‐term effect of COVID‐19 on self‐employed workers in Canada. Canadian Public Policy, 46, S66–S81. Accepted‐version. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bohn, S. , Mejia, M. C. , & Lafortune, J. (2020). The economic toll of COVID‐19 on small business. Public Policy Institute of California.
    1. Boston, T. D. (1999). Generating jobs through African American business development. In Whitehead J. & Harris C. (Eds.), Readings in Black Political Economy. Dubuque: Kendall‐Hunt.
    1. Boston, T. D. (2006). The role of Black‐owned businesses in Black community development. In Ong P. (Ed.), Jobs and economic development in minority communities: Realities, challenges, and innovation. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.