Remember the lines being played out by politicians and the business media in the early months of the government lockdowns that the economy will come back, and it will be “V- shaped” recovery?
As we had forecast in March, the longer and harder the COVID War rages, the deeper the economy will fall and millions of businesses and tens of millions of people will suffer the fallout.
As of 31 August, 163,735 businesses listed on the Yelp customer-review website were closed, compared to 180,000 in March. The number shows 23 percent more businesses closed since 15 July.
The number of businesses reporting on Yelp they have permanently closed is 97,966, or a fraction less than 60 percent of all Yelp-listed businesses. The number is up 34 percent since mid-July, according to Yelp’s latest monthly economic impact report.
Professional and vehicle-related services are among the businesses that have best withstood the economic shutdown; hardest-hit were eateries, men’s clothiers, and non-essential retailers, such as gift shops.
At the end of August, 32,109 restaurants had closed, with 61 percent of the closures being permanent; 54 percent of bars will not reopen.
Hawaii has suffered the greatest rate of business losses, with the absence of tourists. Arizona, California, Nevada, and Washington state are close behind. Metro areas in these states, including Honolulu, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose have seen some of the highest numbers of permanent closures.
Los Angeles and New York City show the highest number of closures at 15,000 and 11,000, respectively. Half of those in Los Angeles are permanent and 63 percent in New York.
