At the same time, businesses of all sizes continue to be crushed by COVID-related restrictions, especially in blue states. In February, nearly one-quarter of U.S. small and medium-sized businesses were closed—up from 14 percent in October. The worst may be yet to come: 13 percent of small business owners—millions of employers—are prepared to close their doors if economic conditions do not improve later this year.
Then there’s unemployment. Based on the U6 unemployment rate, which accounts for workers who have quit looking for a job and part-time employees looking for full-time work, joblessness is well above 10 percent of the labor market. Last year, over 8 million American families experienced job loss, and millions more remain impacted.