CT Launches Small Business Implementation Task Force to Advance Reopening

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When one considers pre-coronavirus data indicating that more than 97% of the businesses in Connecticut employ fewer than 500 people each and nearly 50% of all Connecticut workers are employed by firms with fewer than 500 employees, the state’s emphasis on the re-start and recovery of those businesses is no surprise.

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Over the weekend, Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) launched an “ad hoc task force” developed to provide support to small businesses on how to implement the newly announced regulations impacting a range of industries.  Members include representatives of Chambers of Commerce and business organizations throughout the state.

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“We are grateful to these organizations who represent the voices of our communities and our small businesses for agreeing to work with DECD and AdvanceCT in a team effort to provide the best possible guidance and support to our small businesses,” said DECD Commissioner David Lehman. “We share the goal of helping businesses across the state to reopen as quickly as possible, while adopting these new and necessary measures to keep our communities safe.”

The Reopen Connecticut Small Business Implementation Task Force will be chaired by Lyle Wray of the Capitol Region Council of Governments. Other members will include:

  • Cindy Bombard, Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce

  • Joe Brennan, Connecticut Business and Industry Association

  • Nancy Cowser, seCTer

  • Joe Ercolano, Small Business Development Center

  • Cathy Graves, New Haven Small Business Academy

  • David Griggs, MetroHartford Alliance

  • Kim Hawkins, HEDCO

  • Larry McHugh, Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce

  • Patrick McMahon, CT Main Street Center

  • Julio Mendoza, Spanish American Merchant Association

  • Dan Onofrio, Bridgeport Regional Business Council

  • Fran Pastore, Women’s Business Development Council

  • Garrett Sheehan, Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce

  • Tony Sheridan, Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut

  • Lynn Ward, Waterbury Regional Chamber of Commerce

The task force, made up of small business and industry associations from around the state, is expected to release a detailed guide for small businesses by May 15, according to state officials, in preparation for the state’s business “reopening” on May 20.

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Data from the U.S. Small Business Administration, as of 2019, indicate that firms with fewer than 100 employees have the largest share of small business employment in Connecticut.  At that time, small businesses employed more than 750,000 workers.  Using small business hourly time card data, researchers from the University of Chicago, surveying small businesses nationwide, found that 40 percent of the firms in their data had zero recorded hours of work by the end of March, as business closings imposed by state governments in response to the pandemic took effect. Researchers at the National Bureau of Economic Research found that about three-quarters of the small businesses they surveyed only have enough cash to cover two months of operations at most.

The SBA indicated last week that small businesses are “an important barometer of the health of the economy.”  The U.S. Census Bureau has initiated a new “Small Business Pulse” survey to gather data on the current status of small businesses in the U.S., with the initial survey results due to be released during the coming week.