(The Center Square) – Thousands of businesses in Illinois have closed since
Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued stay-at-home orders to reduce the spread of COVID-19,
according to a quarterly report from the consumer review website Yelp,
which said more of those businesses will remain closed rather than
reopen.
In its “economic average” report, Yelp found about 5,100 Illinois-based
business listings on its site have either temporarily closed or will
permanently shutter.
“With nearly every state (and even county) taking a tailored approach to
reopening local economies we expect these shifts in consumer interest and
business closures to continue to move at an unpredictable pace,” the report
said.
Most of the closures, 4,400, were listed as Chicago-based
businesses.
“It’s very tough to see our economy doing what it’s doing right now,” said
Mark Grant, director of the National Federation of Independent Business
Illinois chapter. “Either it’s financially not working out or they just don’t
have the will to try to make it happen anymore.”
Since the review-based website mainly caters to service-industry listings,
other sectors of the state’s economy are not represented. Yelp said its closure
counts are likely an estimate of the businesses most impacted, with many others
not counted because they remain open with curtailed hours and staffing. Other
businesses could be closed and have not yet updated their Yelp business pages
to reflect closures, the report said.
Grant described the “nerve-wracking” emotional process of a small business
owner being forced to close.
“These folks are just really desperate to get those doors back open and if
they can’t get back open, or if they open up and customers are saying ‘I’m not
willing to come back,’ that makes it even worse,” he said.
A separate
report from the Illinois Policy Institute estimated the state
could permanently lose 94,200 service sector jobs should state officials begin
to reinstate closure orders.
“Chicago’s economic fallout, exacerbated by new COVID-19 restrictions, could
very likely set the tone for the rest of the state,” Chief Economist Orphe
Divounguy said. “Thousands of businesses previously banking on temporary
closures and a slow but steady return to normal are quickly seeing these
shutdowns become permanent.”
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 1,532 new COVID-19 cases
Friday, attributing 19 more deaths to the virus.