Category: Small / Local Business

No comments

Small Businesses and Workers Need Help From the State—And Each Other

  By Economic Development, Economic Justice, PBPC Blog posts, Small / Local Business

Thanks to the American Rescue Plan enacted by President Biden, we’re seeing the economy recover faster than people suspected was possible when we were in the depths of the pandemic recession nine months ago. But that recovery doesn’t include everyone. Small businesses and many working people are still hurting. They need Pennsylvania’s government to help them by using the 7.5 million dollars of our tax money the General Assembly refused to spend in June. Fifteen months after the beginning of the pandemic, small business revenue in Pennsylvania is still down 28% relative to pre-COVID levels. It has continued to decline in the last two months. As of June 21st, the number of small businesses open in Pennsylvania was below that at the start of 2020 by about 37%. The last two months have seen a decline of roughly 10 percentage points. Many workers remain in trouble, too. As of May 2021,… Continue reading

No comments

Small Businesses and Workers Still Need Help

  By Economic Development, PA Economy, Policy briefs, Small / Local Business

By Maisum Murtaza, Claire Kovach, Stephen Herzenberg and Marc Stier state budget enacted in late June has two glaring and interrelated missing pieces: it provides little support for the small businesses and for the working people of Pennsylvania who are still suffering from the impact of the pandemic. Small businesses are still hurting. Fifteen months after the beginning of the pandemic, small business revenue in Pennsylvania is still down 28% relative to pre-COVID levels. It has continued to decline in the last two months. As of June 21st, the number of open small businesses in Pennsylvania was down compared to the start of 2020 by about 37%. The last two months have seen a decline of roughly 10 percentage points. Workers are still hurting, too. As of May 2021, Pennsylvania is still more than 400,000 jobs short of the level in February 2020 The unemployment rate has remained around 7%… Continue reading