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Really Bad For Business: A New Survey Shows The Pandemic's Ugly Toll
Globe Cleaners, a dry cleaner in Venice, began making masks early on in the pandemic. (Chava Sanchez/LAist)
During the first four months of the coronavirus pandemic, small businesses in California saw their revenue drop an average of 75%. That’s one of the detailed findings of a new survey of over 22,000 small business owners in the state done by California’s network of Small Business Development Centers.
By July 2020, nearly one-third of businesses that responded to the survey were either permanently or temporarily closed.
But the impact has been uneven. Half of businesses in arts, entertainment and recreation were still closed in July -- the highest of any industry. That’s likely because these businesses can’t easily comply with social distancing guidelines.
Black-owned businesses in California have struggled the most of any racial or ethnic group: nearly 45% were closed in July, compared with about 30% of white and Asian-owned businesses and 35% of Latino-owned businesses.
And businesses that were able -- or willing -- to pivot seem to be doing much better.
READ THE FULL STORY: Pivot Or Die: How LA's Small Business Owners Survived 2020
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