The longer the pandemic lasts, the greater the jeopardy to many small businesses. A recent report from McKinsey & Company finds that the sectors most affected by the coronavirus and the least financially resilient include 1.7 million small businesses, employ 20 million workers, and earn 12 percent of U.S. business revenue.

The fallout from COVID-19 is growing as unemployment numbers skyrocket, small businesses are faced with closures, and employers try to protect both their business and employees. A just-released national study conducted by America’s Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) and Thryv Inc.,  found that 69 percent of U.S. small businesses have already experienced a large drop in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic and 60 percent believe demand will continue to decline.

A report released last fall on the financial stability of U.S. small businesses in 25 metros has been given new context as attempts to slow the coronavirus pandemic have brought a majority of in-person commerce to a halt across communities, the country, and the globe.

As the global economy continues to struggle through the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released an interactive online tool for discovering success stories of small business innovation and entrepreneurship. Showcasing several of the businesses that have successfully leveraged NIH small business funding — totaling more than $1 billion annually — to develop healthcare products and services, NIH’s Small Business Education and Entrepreneurial Development (SEED) office hopes that the tool will inspire others to start businesses and develop their technologies.

Companies employing more than 5,000 people represent nearly two-thirds (63.9 percent) of all business R&D in the United States, according to an analysis of NSF’s Business Research, Development, and Innovation Survey (BRDIS). With the recent release of more detailed numbers and to expand on a Useful Stats report from earlier this year, this analysis focuses on business R&D by company size.

The U.S. Census Bureau has recently announced that data collection has begun for Phase 7 of the Small Business Pulse Survey (SBPS). The SBPS measures the effects of changing conditions for small businesses (businesses that have a single location and under 500 employees) during the COVID-19 pandemic. This phase of the survey also includes new questions on changes in the use of digital technologies and in business, production, and management practices.

Indiana and Illinois are two of the most recent states to implement innovation voucher programs, adding another tool to their efforts to increase economic activity among innovators and entrepreneurs.

An inaugural report looking at the landscape of capital resources in Arkansas may be useful to others who are interested in examining the capital access in their state or region. The report will serve as a baseline for trends in public, private and philanthropic investments in entrepreneurship across the state and may be a useful resource as the state plans its State Small Business Credit Initiative strategy.

A research team including members from MIT and the Federal Reserve Board assessed the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to determine if the initiative was able to keep businesses from closing and people from becoming unemployed.

A new working paper by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia used loan-level data from two fintech lenders, Funding Circle and LendingClub, to assess how the companies’ pre-pandemic lending patterns differed from those of traditional banks. The report finds fintechs contribute to a “more inclusive” financial system, expanding credit to more companies and at a lower cost.

Gov. Tom Wolf awarded $246.8 million to Pennsylvania local economic development partners through the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) this week. The money is expected to help small, socially and economically disadvantaged businesses grow. The Pennsylvania Department of community and Economic Development (DCED) will distribute the funds to partners who will administer the funding to qualifying businesses.

Entrepreneurs learned more about small business funding opportunities from federal agencies with Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs during America’s Seed Fund Week last week. The $4 billion funding program, which is currently up for reauthorization, is celebrating 40 years of providing funding to small businesses each year in a variety of technology areas.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced 11 additional states whose SSBCI plans have been approved: Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, and Utah.

SSTI has written a response to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) proposed revisions to the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program, which aim to increase program participation.

The Small Business Administration released its annual solicitation for the Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program, a competitive grants program for eligible organizations to conduct outreach and provide technical assistance services to technology-based small business owners.

Business owners felt overwhelmingly optimistic about the future, as over 80 percent of them predicted their revenues would increase over the next three months and that financial conditions would be better as well, according to a new survey from Thumbtack.com and Bloomberg  Professional Service.

The Small Business Administration announced the FY15 awardees of its Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program. In FY15, 20 state and local economic development agencies, business development centers, and colleges and universities will receive $100,000 each to support programs to establish and/or sustain programs that provide support to innovative, technology-driven small businesses in their state and help them compete in federally funded research and development through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.

Although the uncertainty associated with business churn may cause concern for some, regions with more job turnover also exhibit signs of higher life-satisfaction, according to a recent study. In Creative Destruction and Subjective Wellbeing, researchers from Harvard University, Princeton University, and the University of Pennsylvania use cross-sectional MSA level data to analyze the relationship between turnover-driven growth and subjective well-being.