(The Center Square) – A new report paints a bleak picture of the state of small businesses in Illinois and the rest of the country during the coronavirus pandemic.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released its fourth-quarter Small Business Index Report, and 74 percent of small business owners say they need further government assistance to weather the storm. Furthermore, only 40% of all small business owners believe their business can continue to operate indefinitely without having to shut down permanently.
“Thirty, forty, fifty percent of our smaller employers are perhaps never going to come back into business,” said Todd Maisch, president and CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.
Maisch said that because small businesses account for the largest percentage of jobs in the United States, it is concerning.
Amid a new surge in cases across the nation, according to the report, 62 percent of small businesses worry that the worst is still to come from the pandemic’s economic impact.
Illinoisans continue to encounter job losses, some caused by government-imposed restrictions. Of those who remain employed, the strain may be having an effect. Sixty-three percent of small business owners are concerned about employee morale. More than half (55%) report working longer hours than before the pandemic and around 30% report a worsening of mental health.
Leaders on Capitol Hill say they are getting closer to an agreement on sending $900 billion in aid to Americans. Lawmakers are short on time to pass a government funding and pandemic rescue package before federal funding lapses at 12:01 a.m. ET Saturday.
Robert Steiner, district director for the Illinois office of the U.S. Small Business Administration, said small businesses are the backbone of the American economy.
“All these small businesses, they are not just businesses,” he said. “They are the focal centers for their communities and provide jobs for their communities and really drive things in our economy.”
