Over a quarter of the small businesses in New York and New Jersey have closed since January, according to grim numbers from a Harvard-run database tracking the economic damage wrought by COVID-19 lockdowns. Yet, the governors of both states are looking toward further lockdowns — something that could cripple the economy going forward.
TrackTheRecovery.org pegged New York’s small business loss rate as of Nov. 16 at 27.8 percent, according to the New York Post. In New Jersey, the numbers were even grimmer: 31.2 percent.
At least New York comes in under the national average of 28.9 percent of small businesses having closed since the pandemic hit. Some large states are in the same boat as New Jersey or worse. Texas is at 32.5 percent closed and California, which recently put the brakes on economic activity, is at 31.1 percent.
Eileen Kean, the New Jersey director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, told NJ.com that things are “really bad” in the Garden State.
