The COVID-19 pandemic has upended normal life as we know it.
Many businesses have struggled to adapt to this new landscape.
Let us take a deeper dive into economic data, the stories behind it, and ways we can help.
Meet Patrice
When Patrice Graham opened Colors of Yoga Raleigh
three years ago, it became the city's only Black-owned yoga studio, an inclusive space for people of color and the
LGBTQIA+ community to feel comfortable and confident practicing. Things were going well until news of a mysterious
disease, named COVID-19, started spreading across the country...
When It All Began...
On February 29, 2020, Washington state (represented by the orange square) became the first to announce a state of emergency due to COVID-19.
Two and a half weeks later, California (red) became the first state to institute a state-wide lockdown on March 19, 2020.
Visualization: Each square represents a different state in the U.S., ordered by when they declared a state of emergency.
Lockdowns in March
Following California's lead, 32 states announced state-wide lockdowns (red) and 12 other states
announced partial lockdowns (orange) by March 31st, 2020. In March alone, 316 million people across 42 states
were being urged to stay home. Visualization:Pink squares represent full state-wide lockdowns and blue squares represent partial lockdowns.
A New Normal
In the period of three weeks, virtually the entire U.S. had to adopt to a new normal.
One in which hindered people from working, buying, and traveling. Visualization: Pink squares represent full state-wide lockdowns and blue squares represent partial lockdowns.
Sorry, we're Closed
Due to COVID restrictions, the doors of Graham's colorful studio are closed for good. Seven months months into the
pandemic, she has given up the lease on the studio. She's tried to transition all of her classes online,
but engagement is just not the same when events are held virtually.
A Sharp Drop
Following lockdowns in March of 2020, consumer expenditure in the U.S. experienced a sharp drop.
At the same time, there has been a surge in usage of Zoom and other technological services.
The Recovery So Far
As some states eased lockdown measures, GDP and consumer expenditure has rebounded slightly, although we are nowhere close to a full recovery.
However, the pandemic is far from over, as winter brings yet another surge in cases.
By November 2020, over 12.6 million people in the U.S. have been infected by COVID-19.
Overwhelming Uncertainty
The data alone doesn't do justice to the rollercoaster of emotions small business owners go through.
Let's go back to our story of Patrice Graham, founder of Colors of Yoga Raleigh.
"There's so much uncertainty, therapy should be free right now," comments Graham on the current climate.
"No one can get any kind of grounding. There's so much going on, so much changing."
Consumer Expenditure
One reason for so much uncertainty for businesses is that consumer spending habits have changed drastically.
After seeing the sharp drop in GDP, guess how consumer expenditure changed during COVID-19. Once you're done
drawing, you can move down the page to reveal how close your guess was!
Consumer Expenditure
You can see on the right that although consumer spending suffered a huge drop in March and April,
it actually recovered by June -- a recovery even faster than GDP.
Scroll down to take a look at how this rebound compares to the 2008 recession.
A Tale of Two Recessions
Public concern for the U.S. economy is reminiscent of the 2007-09 recession.
We see here in the graph of U.S. consumer expenditures that the COVID-19 recession has experienced a much sharper
drop and rebound compared to 2007-09. However, this doesn't mean that all sectors of the economy recovered.
Some thrived in the new socially distanced environment and others struggled.
COVID-19 Consumer Expenditure by Sector
Let's zoom into 2020 and see how people spent their money in different sectors for COVID.
Some sectors, like food and technology, have rebounded. Others, like gas, have remained stagnant.
This points to a striking imbalance in our current economy -- while some sectors are ruined beyond repair, others are thriving.
More than 82% of the jobs lost since February have been service jobs, and black-owned businesses have also faced disproportionate
hardship during the coronavirus pandemic.
Federal Funding
Here you can see the distribution of federal funding through PPP (paycheck protection program).
Although helpful, many of these PPP loans have dried up and more funding is sorely needed.
Without these government loans (akin to 2008's financial bailouts), thousands of small businesses
are struggling to survive. We encourage you to ask your congress representatives to fight for more
legislation to help out your local economy!
We're In This Fight Together
"You have to evolve or die," Graham says. "We are in survival mode."
Help Colors of Yoga Raleigh and
other small businesses push through the hardships presented by COVID-19.
Join the fight by adding your email to our mailing list to stay tuned in how you can help.
If you know any small businesses that need help with funding or marketing, please let us know!
Let's all help our communities adjust to this new norm.
Credits
Visualization created by Eric Lin, Sophie Sun, and Verena Lin. Special thanks to Yalong Yang and the entire CS 171 teaching staff of Fall 2020.
Data obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Story about Patrice written by CNBC. Illustrations by Freepik Storyset.