Main Street Monday — Small Business Revenue is 31% Lower Than It Was at the Beginning of the Year

December 7, 2020

Caity Roach
Editor

Main Street Monday — Small Business Revenue is 31% Lower Than It Was at the Beginning of the Year

Last Thursday, the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO) released its quarterly Small Business Snapshot, which shows that daily revenue among small businesses is 31% lower than it was when the year began and that a large percentage of entrepreneurs (74%) report the pandemic has had a significant negative impact on their business. However, the number of small businesses negatively affected by the pandemic has declined consistently since May, and unemployment rates continue to drop. 

“Our economic data, while not surprising, is yet more evidence of the fact that small businesses across the country are being hit hard by the pandemic,” says Pat Cleary, NAPEO’s president, and CEO. “Although, things do seem to be improving slightly as the year comes to a close.” 

Here are the key findings in NAPEO’s quarterly snapshot of U.S. small businesses:

  • Although small business sentiment on present and future expectations declined significantly due to COVID-19, it has begun to recover.

  • Small business job growth continued in recent months but slowed dramatically after significant increases in Q2.

  • The national unemployment rate is now at 6.9%, just 3.3 percentage points higher than it was one year ago. By state, unemployment rates remain highest in Hawaii (14.3%), Nevada (12.0%), and New York (9.6%).

  • Job losses in the last year are highest in leisure and hospitality, with a decline of over 3 million jobs in 12 months

NAPEO represents more than 900 Professional Employer Organizations in the U.S. that provide payroll, benefits, and other HR services to over 175,000 small and mid-size businesses. According to their most recent data, small business owners that use Professional Employer Organizations are 72% more likely to have received a PPP loan in round one than other small businesses, 91% less likely to still be temporarily closed, and 60% less likely to have permanently closed.

Sources:
NAPEO
PR Newswire