American Business Is Split on Partisan Lines Over Virus Recovery

(Bloomberg) -- The politicization of Americans’ views about the Covid-19 outbreak, including whether to wear a mask, extends to small businesses.

Firms in the Northeast and in Democratic-leaning states are more anxious about the future than their peers around the country, with many expecting economic pain from the Covid-19 pandemic to last longer than six months, a new U.S. Census Bureau survey shows.

The survey of around 90,000 firm shows that, while every U.S. region is affected by the outbreak, the extent of financial damage and people’s attitudes toward it vary widely by state. About 40% of respondents in blue-leaning states of Vermont and Hawaii, as well as Washington, D.C., see it taking more than half a year for business to return to normal. However, only 18% of those surveyed in the GOP strongholds of West Virginia and Idaho see it taking so long, the data show.

The Census Bureau hopes the weekly survey will give policy makers and decision makers in the private sector more timely information about what’s happening in the economy and how the pandemic is shaping it. The bureau collected the information from April 26 to May 2.

Not surprisingly, small businesses in states with the most severe Covid-19 outbreaks had some of the most worrying responses, while states in less affected places were more optimistic. About 39% of respondents in hard-hit New Jersey reported having fewer employees over the past week, the second highest rate after only Puerto Rico. Businesses on that island territory also reported some of the most severe financial effects of all U.S. states and territories, including the most respondents saying the virus has had a “large negative effect.”

Also, business people in industries crippled by the virus, such as accommodation and food services, reflected outsize pain. For example, more than 47% of small businesses in lodging and restaurants nationwide reported a decrease in their number of paid employees during the past week, compared with 27.5% of all respondents.

While the survey didn’t ask about politics, the results indicate businesses in blue-leaning states have more pessimistic outlooks, while respondents in red-leaning states were more bullish. That could stem from the more severe outbreak in the Northeast, but also could reflect partisan differences over the issue.

Among the 10 states where the highest percentage of businesses expect it to take longer than six months to fully recover, eight voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election (including the District of Columbia). Among the 10 states where the fewest expect it to take so long, nine voted for President Donald Trump.

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