37% Of Massachusetts Small Businesses Closed Due To COVID-19

Massachusetts small businesses have taken a significant hit during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Like many other states, Massachusetts is seeing a rise in businesses closing their doors amid a decrease in sales, with a total of just 37% of small businesses remaining open since the start of the year, according to researchers at Opportunity Insights via the Boston Herald. In total, revenue for small businesses has dropped by 44% compared to January, according to Opportunity Insights' Economic Tracker data.

“Massachusetts is seeing the same sort of national pattern with the economic crisis hitting smaller businesses particularly hard,” Sebi Devlin-Foltz, on the Opportunity Insights’ policy team, told the Herald on Monday.

“Most people are staying home and not spending as much,” Devlin-Foltz added. “There has been a lot of spending for online retailers. That’s going through the roof.”

The Leisure and hospitality industry, which includes restaurants and hotels, has taken the largest hit during the pandemic with a 55% drop in open businesses and revenue dropping to 64%, as reduced capacities and limited hours playing a major role in the decreases.

Larger cities have typically seen a greater decrease in small businesses remaining open, including Boston, which has dropped by 44% since the beginning of 2020 and has seen its total small business revenue fall by 52%.

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