Prognosis
Black Business Owners Are Up 38% in U.S. From Pre-Covid Levels
- August data show biggest rise by far among racial groups
- Buy Black movement and high job losses among possible factors
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After suffering a crippling blow early in the pandemic, Black-owned firms are seeing the strongest rebound among U.S. racial or ethnic groups.
The number of African-American business owners in operation surged to almost 1.5 million last month, up 38% from February 2020, before Covid-19 hit the U.S., according to new research from Robert Fairlie, a professor at University of California, Santa Cruz. The ranks of Hispanic owners rose by 15% in the same period, while White and Asian entrepreneurs fell by 3% and 2%, respectively.