Black-owned businesses, which suffered the most during the Covid19 lockdowns, have rebounded to their pre-pandemic levels. This according to research based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
In April, the number of black-owned businesses plummeted by 41%. They are now at a 2% increase over February’s pre-pandemic numbers.
“The rebound might be due to a concerted effort by customers to buy from Black-owned businesses,” said UC Santa Cruz economics professor Robert Fairlie, adding “I’m not sure if this explains everything, but it certainly helped.”
One possible explanation, notes Bloomberg, is a recent spike in entrepreneurship in the U.S. New business formation filings climbed 77% in the third quarter over the preceding quarter. That’s an 82% increase from a year ago.
Brandi & Jermail Shelton, owners of Just Add Honey Tea Company of Atlanta, GA