Coronavirus pandemic still keeping nearly 140,000 businesses closed, report shows
Only 20% of businesses have reopened since April, when 175,000 were closed
Bar Rescue host Jon Taffer discusses changes to restaurant dining regarding coronavirus safety measures and how businesses are struggling to stay afloat.
A majority of businesses that shut down during the coronavirus pandemic remained closed in June as the outbreak of the virus continued to ravage the nation's economy, according to new data published by Yelp.
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Nearly 140,000 Yelp-listed businesses that had closed at the beginning of March were still closed on June 15, the findings show. A large percentage of that group, 41 percent, has shut for good, according to Yelp.
The data indicates that only 20 percent of businesses have reopened since April, when 175,000 were closed -- even as states begin to gradually loosen restrictions implemented to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
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Although the closures are widespread across businesses, a few industries saw the biggest hits. Shopping and retail saw the highest number of total closures at 27,663, followed by restaurants (23,981), beauty (15,348) and fitness (5,589). Combined, those industries accounted for more than 72,000 closures in June.
"Retail was by far the hardest hit, experiencing the highest number of total closures, with the average daily rate continuing to increase since March," the report said.
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Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Chicago and Dallas were the cities with the highest number of business closures as of June 15, according to the report.
Meanwhile, protests against racial injustice and police brutality across the country coincided with a surge of interest among Americans in supporting black-owned businesses, the report found.
Since May 25, there has been a 1,785 percent surge in searches for black-owned businesses, compared with three weeks prior. The highest number of searches was in Washington, D.C., followed by Minnesota, Maryland, Michigan and Georgia.
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