Shot of a happy young shopkeeper standing behind the counter in a store and using a mobile phone
Fifteen percent of Black small business owners were forced to close during the pandemic. As ESSENCE previously reported, the New York Fed found that between February 2020 and April 2020, the number of small businesses in the United States decreased by 22 percent, but Black ownership decreased by 41 percent. This was the largest decline among all racial groups during the height of the pandemic.
The small business ecosystem is officially showing signs of recovery, according to a new report from Yelp. Their findings show that the number of business openings in 2022 reached a record high, with new business growth rates exceeding pre-pandemic (2019) levels in 86% of states.
Most interestingly, the southern states saw the most growth.
As ESSENCE previously noted Atlanta, Georgia has the highest percentage of black-owned businesses of any of the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. at 7.4%, according to a 2023 report from financial platform Lending Tree. found.
Rapid business growth in 2022 could be attributed to headwinds from inflation and the recovery of supply chain processes that were disrupted at the height of the pandemic. Nearly 1.7 million applications to start a new business with the potential to hire employees were filed in 2022, the second-highest year on record, according to an analysis by the Economic Innovation Group.
“As this year continues to be turbulent, local businesses have demonstrated their ability to weather labor shortages, high inflation, supply chain challenges, and more,” Yelp's report said. “{Growth} was primarily driven by new housing and community services businesses, while new restaurant, shopping and nightlife openings were below pre-pandemic levels.”
