There are more small businesses in Schuylkill County now than there were prior to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.
According to information from Opportunity Insights available at TrackTheRecovery.org, Schuylkill County is the one county in Pennsylvania to see this kind of growth. In fact, Schuylkill County is the only county in Pennsylvania to be a positive in the number of small businesses open compared to January 2020. This data looks at the actual number of small businesses open for business.
The data shows a 1.8% increase in the number of small businesses at the end of 2020 compared to the beginning of the year. So, it’s safe to say the county has recovered from the pandemic, at least in the number of small businesses open. But this could all change if any more business shutdown orders are issued by the incoming Biden administration or by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and his administration.
At its lowest point during the pandemic, Schuylkill County had 45% of small businesses closed.
Among the counties surrounding Schuylkill, Northumberland is the next best in terms of the number of businesses open. There are 4.3% less small businesses open in Northumberland at the end of 2020 compared to the beginning of the year. Here’s a look at all the counties surrounding Schuylkill in terms of percent of small businesses open (January 2020 vs. December 2020):
- Schuylkill: +1.8%
- Northumberland: -4.3
- Dauphin: -30.6
- Lebanon: -38.5
- Berks: -33.7
- Lehigh: -28.7
- Luzerne: -17.6
- Columbia: -22.7
Carbon County is one of about a dozen counties in Pennsylvania that haven’t contributed or no data is being reported.
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PTFloridians
January 14, 2021 at 4:28 pm
Just a thought…the County should encourage its localities to do-away with enforcing parking meters in the “downtown” areas to encourage shopping, eating, etc.
…Stop chasing away people by laying-in-wait ticketing of people trying to spend money in local businesses.
Ryles
January 14, 2021 at 5:41 pm
Parking Meters served a purpose 30 years ago when our downtowns were thriving. Merchants actually embraced them so that they wouldn’t be taken by residents. Today they’re useless & only impede our struggling downtown business owners.