Virus Hurting Business at Three-Fourths of Small U.S. Companies

(Bloomberg) -- More than three-quarters of small businesses in the U.S. have been hurt by the coronavirus outbreak, according to a National Federation of Independent Business survey conducted Friday.

That was up from a fifth of those firms surveyed March 9-10, the NFIB said Monday. The latest survey of 700 businesses with 360 or fewer employees showed that one-fifth aren’t affected by the outbreak now, but 77% of those anticipate that will change should the outbreak spread to their immediate area, or more broadly in it, over the next three months, the organization said.

“Owners are taking the threat to their business seriously,” the group said in a statement. “Many owners have already sought out financial help and more are planning to do so in the near future. The outbreak will leave few, if any, owners unscathed. We know the economic impact will be immense.”

A majority either are already talking or plan to talk with their bank or search for loan assistance, according to NFIB’s survey of a random sample of its member database of about 300,000 small business owners.

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