A poll released Tuesday found that 85% of small businesses will need federal funds to stay open during the coronavirus pandemic.
Alignable, an online referral network for small businesses, conducted the poll, which asked small businesses how important additional federal relief funds were to their ability to stay open through June 2021. 48% of small businesses said federal funds are “critical” to their survival, 37% said they are significantly important, 12% said they are somewhat important, and just 3% said that federal funds are not important.
Small businesses need an average of $110,000 per business in order to survive through June of 2021, according to the poll. (RELATED: ‘Catastrophic’ Consequences For Small Businesses If There Is No Relief Bill, CEOs Tell Congress)
A store displays a sign before closing down permanently as more businesses feel the effects of stay-at-home orders amid the coronavirus pandemic, on June 16, 2020 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images)
Business owners were also asked what they would spend the money on if they received another loan. The most common response was paying rent or employee salaries. Business owners also said that they would pay for additional bills, pay themselves, pay off other loans, invest in expansion plans, or participate in online education to become more virtual.
The poll was conducted between Dec. 5 and 7. A total of 5,500 business owners were surveyed.
Loans from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) were given to businesses beginning in April. The $670 billion program had supported more than 51 million small business jobs as of July, the Trump administration said. Congress is currently debating on another round of relief funds, but talks of more federal relief funding has stalled due to partisan gridlock.
“Dueling members of Congress need to compromise and jump over political hurdles to ensure that more small businesses weather the rest of this catastrophic COVID storm,” Eric Groves, the Co-Founder of Alignable, said in a blog post. “Our latest poll clearly demonstrates that more aid is desperately needed to keep hard-working small business leaders afloat – and to continue fueling the recovery.”