Changes in Employment by Businesses During the Covid-19 Pandemic : New Insights on the Experimental Series of Monthly Business Openings and Closures

This article illustrates the extent to which businesses that were active in February 2020 scaled back their employment during the COVID-19 pandemic. It finds that 70% and 82% of employment declines in March and April 2020, respectively, were attributable to continuing businesses, which scaled back their workforce significantly. While this was observed in businesses of all sizes, small firms with fewer than 100 employees contributed the most to employment declines among both continuing businesses and business closures.