Survey Shows Small Businesses in Crisis Due to Omicron Infections
A recent poll from Goldman Sachs finds that 37% of small businesses say they have been forced to temporarily close or scale back operations because of the recent rise in COVID-19 cases.
The survey included responses from 47 states and two U.S. territories, 58% of whom were women, including more than 1,400 small business owners.
Nearly 71% of respondents experienced a drop in revenue related to the rise in cases, and nearly 80% are worried about the impact of future outbreaks.
According to small business owners in the survey, when it comes to the most significant problems they face, 50% reported difficulties finding and retaining qualified employees, 19% reported supply chain issues, and 18% reported inflation-related issues.
Unfortunately, the majority of small business owners don’t see many of these problems improving quickly, as only 13% of employers feel the supply chain issues will subside in the next six months.
Also, two-thirds do not think the federal government has done enough to address the economic trends relating to hiring challenges, supply chain issues and inflation.
That’s why 82% of small business owners support emergency financial assistance from the federal government to small businesses that are still struggling from the pandemic.
For example, about 86% of small business owners said reauthorizing the COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan would provide substantial support to make it through the pandemic.
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