The National Federation of Independent Business says 76% of small businesses are now being negatively impacted by the spread of the coronavirus, up from 23% ten days ago. NFIB state director Dawn Starns says of those that are seeing disruption, the biggest factor to the increase is slowed sales.
“The supply chain interruptions were still somewhere in that 20% range and about 54% is due to slower sales, up from the 40% range on the last survey,” said Starns.
Nine percent of small businesses cite sick employees for being a disruption for operations.
The level of concern has spiked significantly. Starns says about 68% of small business owners are very concerned about COVID-19 compared to just 16% on the last survey.
“Just 6% of our owners had not taken any action in a response to the outbreak two weeks ago and now we have more than half, 52%, saying they are,” said Starns.
The state has ordered that many businesses shut down in an effort to slow the spread. Starns commends Governor Edwards handling of the pandemic, saying he’s been great at keep businesses in the loop.
“We feel positive about Governor Edwards. He’s been very transparent and proactive in trying to keep everyone both calm but informed and that’s the best we can do,” said Starns.
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