A new report from the Partnerships For New York City suggests that New York City is on the verge of losing a third of its small businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report released on Monday warned about the job losses and businesses at stake.
So far in New York City, 520,000 jobs have gone in the small business sector. About 285,000 of those jobs were in businesses with 50 or less employee strength.
The report claims that “As many as a thirds of the 230,000 small businesses that populate neighborhood commercial corridors may never reopen. The unemployment rate has risen to 18.3%, leaving as many as a million households struggling to feed their families and pay rent, with hardship concentrated among Black and Hispanic communities and lower-wage workers.”
A halt incurred by the tourism sector has also impacted hospitality, entertainment ventures, and mainly the 27,000 restaurants in NYC.
The unemployment rate has had a stark rise too, one million New York residents are idle despite 200,000 job openings. The report claims the reason to be a lack of skills in the workforce.
High-income taxes levied is speculated to make the circumstances worse for the people.
“Leadership must step up from business, labor, communities, and the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors to join in public-private partnerships that will be dedicated to building consensus around solutions and executing on them,” the report said.
