Press release
Paychex Study Finds 63% of Business Owners Feel the Worst of the COVID-19 Pandemic is Behind Them
ROCHESTER, N.Y., May 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As business owners across the country focus on getting back to business, 63 percent feel the worst is behind
About this update from Paychex, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n ROCHESTER, N.Y., May 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As business owners across the country focus on getting back to business, 63 percent feel the worst is behind them when it comes to the impact of COVID-19 on their operations, according to new research from Paychex, Inc., a leading provider of human resources, payroll, benefits, and insurance solutions for 670,000 small- and medium-sized businesses. However, 4 in 5 business owners are somewhat or very concerned about a possible second wave of infection.\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n\"Over the past couple of weeks, as all 50 states have begun some phase of reopening, many business owners have turned their attention to determining how to best operate safely and efficiently in this new landscape,\" said Martin Mucci, Paychex president and CEO. \"After an extended period of uncertainty, with more questions remaining, it's encouraging to see that business owners are optimistic about their recovery from this crisis while remaining cautious about the economy and a potential second wave.\"\nAs part of a COVID-19 survey series, Paychex polled 300 randomly selected business owners with two to 500 employees beginning April 17, 2020. The most recent wave of the survey, conducted from May 15 to May 17, 2020, revealed the following insights:\nBusinesses' current status:\n46% of business owners report they are fully open and operational 42% are open on a limited basis 12% are closed, but plan to reopen Of the businesses that are open, 30% closed at one point during the pandemic Of the businesses that are closed, half plan to open by July, and 25% will open as soon as they are allowedPaycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan status:\n44% of businesses have applied for a PPP loan Of those that applied, 58% have now received payment, twice as many as wave three (May 1-4) Businesses with 2 to 49 employees are now twice as likely to have received a PPP loan as businesses with 50 to 500 employeesPPP concerns:\n37% of businesses are not clear on how to apply for PPP loan forgiveness That said, 68% are very or extremely confident they will meet the requirements for loan forgiveness 26% don't think the PPP loan will be enough for them to surviveExpected time to return to normal:\n45% of respondents think it will take three or fewer months for their business to return to pre-COVID norms 57% of respondents think ...