Small businesses are appearing to recover better than expected after forced closures due to the coronavirus pandemic, a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. study found Sunday.
The majority of people who lost their jobs due to coronavirus restrictions have started work again, the study found according to Bloomberg. The number of people who are out of work due to coronavirus-related business closures is about 2.7 million as of July, which is down from a peak of about 10.7 million people in April. (RELATED: Study: Coronavirus Shutdowns Could Lead To 75,000 ‘Deaths Of Despair’)
The figures suggest that businesses that were forced to shut down recovered from coronavirus restrictions better than expected. The pandemic probably had a higher effect on overall unemployment than the study found, because businesses that didn’t close down likely cut jobs as well, Bloomberg reported.
A Levi’s store stands locked along Broadway as the coronavirus keeps financial markets and businesses mostly closed on May 07, 2020 in New York City. Hospitals in New York City, which have been especially hard hit by the coronavirus, are just beginning to see a downturn in COVID-19 cases. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
IRS filings for new businesses are at an all-time high, the report said.
A July MetLife & U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Coronavirus Impact Poll found that “more small businesses report reopening and have cautious optimism about the future despite concerns about a resurgence of the coronavirus.”
86% of businesses reported that they had reopened in some capacity. Of the respondents, 70% of businesses said that they were “concerned about financial hardship due to prolonged closures” and 58% were concerned about having to permanently close. 55% said that they were in “good overall health.”
19% of businesses said that they applied for a loan from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a $670 billion loan program launched in April to help small businesses during the pandemic. Of those who received a loan, 64% said they were concerned about loan forgiveness.
The Goldman Sachs study found that “the U.S. appears to have avoided the surge in COVID-19-related permanent business shutdowns that many feared at the pandemic’s onset, likely because the PPP and other policy support helped businesses survive the sharp pullback,” Bloomberg reported.
An increasing number of large companies are filing for bankruptcy, which could hold back job growth by 94,000 jobs per month, the Goldman Sachs study found according to Bloomberg.