Small Businesses Owned by Older Asians, Minorities Hardest Hit by Pandemic, Study Shows

A U.S. study by the New York Federal Reserve and AARP found the pandemic extracted a particularly heavy toll on older minority small business owners, reports Reuters . Small business owners 45 and older closed their operations at higher rates and have had a slower recovery. For instance, 25 percent of small businesses owned by people in that demographic shuttered at the height of the crisis last spring, versus 20 percent of small businesses overall. Small business ownership for people younger than 45 bounced back faster and was down 2 percent overall as of January, but was still down 9 percent for those 45 and older. Meanwhile, about 90 percent of small firms owned by Asians 45 and older saw revenue declines last year, as did 85 percent of older Black-owned business and 81 percent of older Hispanic-owned businesses; this compares to 77 percent of small firms owned by older whites and 78 percent of businesses overall in that age group. Fewer older small business owners in minorities also received full Paycheck Protection Program financing from the federal government compared to whites, while small businesses owned by minorities were more financially distressed heading into the pandemic. "People of color who own small businesses were more likely to borrow from personal networks or against their home or retirement accounts," noted the New York Fed's Kramer Mills.