- Survey by the small business resource Alignable finds that 37 percent of small businesses were unable to pay their June rent in full
- Minority-owned businesses, restaurants, arts and entertainment, and travel and lodging were among the other categories with an elevated share of respondents struggling to make rent
- A majority of respondents said their revenues are half of pre-pandemic levels, and nearly half were having trouble bringing back customers
Summary by Dirk Langeveld
Many small business owners are continuing to struggle to make rent even as COVID-19 business restrictions are eased nationwide, according to a recent survey by the small business network Alignable.
The survey was conducted among 3,814 small business owners between May 22 and June 15. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they were unable to pay their full June rent. The share of minority-owned businesses that couldn’t make rent increased from 45 percent in May to 53 percent in June.
Other findings included:
- Industries with a high share of business owners struggling to make rent included entertainers and artists (47 percent), travel and lodging (44 percent), transportation (43 percent), and nonprofits (42 percent)
- 39 percent of restaurants were unable to make rent, down from 49 percent in May
- In a separate Alignable poll, restaurants were most likely to be in favor of ending supplemental unemployment benefits, with 71 percent supporting such a move
- 57 percent of small business owners said their revenues are half of pre-pandemic revenues or less, while 48 percent said they were having trouble bringing back their customers
- Alignable says that inflation, labor shortages, and confusion over masking rules are adding further pressures to small business owners