The coronavirus pandemic has decimated small businesses as governments across the United States forced companies to close to help flatten the curve.
Although the headlines are about the 22 million jobs lost in just a month, another story is developing: the possible spike in “out of business” signs.
According to a new U.S. Chamber of Commerce poll, one out of ten members say they are less than a month away from permanently shuttering their doors. The same survey found that about half of small businesses might be “eight weeks away from closing forever.”
Suzanne Clark, president of the Chamber of Commerce, told CBS News:
“It’s really terrifying these numbers. And so that’s why these bridge programs are so important. But also why it’s so important that we start to think about reopening in a gradual, phased-in way.
We know that certain regions were hit harder than others. We also know that there were certain regions that weren’t hit as hard. We know that certain sectors… will have a harder time coming back. But there are other sectors that may be able to open.”
It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad, mad world out there.
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