75 Percent of CT Small Businesses Report Negative Impact from Pandemic

More than one-third of Connecticut small businesses say the coronavirus pandemic has had a “large negative effect” on their business, exceeding the national average.  In a survey by the U.S. Census, conducted last week and released today, 34% of businesses described a large negative effect, and another 41% said they’ve faced a “moderate negative effect” - that’s a total of 75% of the state’s small businesses indicating a negative impact from the pandemic.  

Another 17% indicated their business had encountered little or no effect from the pandemic, while 5.7% reported they had seen a moderate positive effect.

The Census Bureau’s Small Business Pulse Survey (SBPS) measures the effect of changing business conditions during the Coronavirus pandemic on the nation's small businesses. SBPS data complements existing U.S. Census Bureau data collections by providing high-frequency, detailed information on the challenges small businesses are facing during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Nationally, 28% of small businesses surveyed reported a large negative effect, 1.5% a large positive effect.  None of the Connecticut businesses surveyed indicated a large positive effect from the economic impact of coronavirus.  The data was developed between March 8 and March 14, 2021.

The percentage of small businesses indicating they had increased their employee roster during the past week was smaller in Connecticut than the nationwide average.  In Connecticut, 6.4% of small businesses increased the number of employees; the national average was 7.1%.   Meanwhile, 87.1% of Connecticut small businesses reported no change in employment levels during the past week, slightly higher than the national average of 85%.

When asked how long it will be before their small business returns to its normal level of operations, nearly two-thirds predicted it would be at least 4 months. The largest percentage – 42% - estimated it would be more than six months.  An additional 21% estimated it would take between 4 to 6 months.  Nearly one in 10 small businesses – 7.5% - indicated they “do not believe this business will return to its normal level of operations.”  A slightly higher percentage (9.3%) said their business “has returned to its normal operations.”

Looking ahead to the next six months, 29% of Connecticut small businesses reported they will need to identify and hire new employees, 35% indicated they will need to increase marketing or sales, and 22% said they will need to obtain financial assistance or additional capital.

Nationally, the Small Business Pulse Survey found that the sectors most affected by the coronavirus pandemic’s economic fallout during the week of March 8-14 were Accommodation and Food Services (61.5%), Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (53.5%) and Educational Services (52.2%).