BOSTON–A new poll of more than 10,000 small business owners reveals a newfound optimism that expedited vaccine distribution in the U.S. has kick-started the beginning of a recovery for some industries and groups, while others still suffer.
The findings were released as part of
April’s Alignable Road To Recovery Report , which in addition to the poll of 10,440 small business owners, also includes data collected from 600,000 SMBs since March 2020.
Alignable said it’s important to note
48% of all small and medium-size businesses (SMBs) still earn less than half of their monthly, pre-COVID revenues.
Key Findings
Among the highlights:
- New Milestone. While 75% of SMBs still report negative COVID effects, the percentage claiming “significant negative impact” has dropped 20% from last month to 38%. This marks the first time in a year that this number has dipped below 40%, Alignable said.
- “We’re Open...Again!” 62% of small businesses are now fully open, reversing a five-month decline and showing a 17% bump over last month.
- Summer Hiring Surge? Hiring for small businesses has been flat for months, but now owners predict that 98% of pre-COVID employees will be back on the payroll by August.
- New No.1 Concern Emerges. But now SMBs are most worried about fresh government shutdowns given the surge in COVID case counts, Alignable said.
- And Is Inflation Ahead?: On top of that, an increasing percentage list skyrocketing prices of supplies as a major concern, sounding the alarm about inflation.
- A Slow Recovery For Some: 37% of SMBs predict they won’t match their pre-COVID monthly revenues until at least 2022 (or even 2023)
- And An Early Recovery For Others: Another 31% say they’ve reached or exceeded their pre-COVID monthly earnings as of April.
The company also released the Alignable Recovery Projections Poll which it said reveals what’s really happening among minorities, women and veterans, key industries, and struggling states, including California, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Michigan, Florida and Texas.
For the full results, go here.