April 12, 2021—Small business closures are creeping back towards pandemic peak levels, CNBC reported.
A report, conducted by Facebook and the Small Business Roundtable, found that 22 percent of small businesses were closed in February, just slightly lower than the 23 percent that were closed last May. In October, the closures were at 14 percent.
“It continues to be a very painful time for small businesses,” John Stanford, co-executive director of the Small Business Roundtable, told CNBC’s “Worldwide Exchange” on Thursday.
Within states, the report also found that certain demographics were getting hit harder than others: 27 percent of minority-led small and medium-size businesses reported closures, compared with 18 percent of others. Female-led businesses saw 25 percent closure rates, while 20 percent of male-led businesses closed.