Mohamed Bughrara
The COVID-19 crisis has impacted many Pennsylvanian small businesses over the past two years. However, according to new data from the Small Business Pulse Survey (SBPS) by the US Census Bureau, small businesses in Pennsylvania reported less of a large negative effect between the start of 2022 to today.
In January 2022, 24.7 percent of businesses in Pennsylvania reported feeling a large negative effect from the coronavirus pandemic, while the national average was 22.1percent. 48.6percent of businesses in Pennsylvania reported experiencing a moderate negative effect from the coronavirus pandemic, while the national average was 44.1 percent. 18.8 percent of businesses in Pennsylvania reported little or no effect from the coronavirus pandemic, while the national average stood at 25.5 percent.
In March of 2022, however, only 17.4 percent of businesses in Pennsylvania reported feeling a large negative effect from the coronavirus pandemic, a decrease of 7.3percent from the start of 2022. The national average dropped to 21.5 percent, only a small decrease. 50.2 percent of businesses in Pennsylvania reported a moderately negative effect from the coronavirus pandemic, while the national average was 43.9 percent. 22.3 percent of small businesses in Pennsylvania felt little or no effect from the coronavirus pandemic, an increase of 4.5 percent from the start of 2022. The national average was 25.6 percent.
Surprisingly, in January 6.2 percent of businesses in Pennsylvania reported experiencing a moderate positive effect from the coronavirus pandemic, with the national average being 6.5 percent. 1.8 percent of businesses in Pennsylvania felt a large positive effect from the coronavirus pandemic, the national average was 1.8 percent. In March, 9 percent of businesses in Pennsylvania felt a moderate positive effect from the coronavirus pandemic, a decrease of 2.8 percent from the start of 2022.
The new data from SBPS shows an increase of Pennsylvania’s small businesses reporting little or no effect from the coronavirus pandemic. As life slowly returns to “normalcy,” small businesses in Pennsylvania should be able to feel more optimistic soon.
