Struggling small business owners are seeing their funding options dry up.
The Small Business Administration officially closed its Paycheck Protection Program loan portal to new applications as of May 31. That program, renewed multiple times over the course of 2020 and early 2021, ultimately disbursed $798 billion to 8.5 million small businesses in the form of forgivable loans.
“I’ve heard story after story from small business owners across the country about how PPP funds helped them keep the lights on, pay their employees — and gave them hope,” said SBA Administrator Isabel Guzman in a press release.
But many small businesses are still struggling, with 47% unable to pay their May rent, according to a survey by small business network Alignable. And about 36% of small business owners have still not seen revenue recover to pre-Covid levels, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.
