Apr 27, 2020 - Economy & Business

68% of small businesses say coronavirus will change their models forever

A closed restaurant in Washington, D.C. Photo: Liu Jie/Xinhua vi Getty Images

A Goldman Sachs survey of 1,790 participants in the firm's 10,000 Small Businesses program, conducted by Babson College and David Binder Research, found that 68% said the coronavirus crisis will likely change their business models for good.

The big picture: 93% of small businesses said the virus will impact the way they operate, and 69% believe that large corporations will have a bigger advantage over them than before the pandemic.

  • 81% of surveyed small businesses are still operating, but the pandemic has forced them to cut their workforces by 37%.
  • 91% have applied for PPP loans, but 71% are still waiting for a response.
  • 85% said the virus has affected their personal finances, while 63% say their cash reserves will last less than three months.

Note: Axios qualified for a loan under the PPP program. More details here.

Go deeper: How many big companies got PPP loans

Go deeper

Unemployment rate falls to 13.3% in May

Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Chart: Axios Visuals

The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 13.3% in May, with 2.5 million jobs gained, the government said on Friday.

Why it matters: The far better-than-expected numbers show a surprising improvement in the job market, which has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Updated 26 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 6,724.516 — Total deaths: 394,018 — Total recoveries — 2,996,832Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 1,894,753 — Total deaths: 109,042 — Total recoveries: 491,706 — Total tested: 19,231,444Map.
  3. Public health: WHCA president says White House violated social-distancing guidelines to make reporters "a prop" — Jailing practices contribute to spread.
  4. Sports: How coronavirus could reshuffle the sports calendar.
  5. Jobs: Better-than-expected jobs report boosts stock market.
  6. Media: The Athletic lays off 8% of staff, implements company-wide pay cut.

Scoop: German foreign minister to travel to Israel with warning on annexation

Heiko Maas. Photo: Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas is expected to travel to Israel next week to warn that there will be consequences if Israeli leaders move forward with plans to annex parts of the West Bank, Israeli officials and European diplomats tell me.

Why it matters: Israeli and European officials agree that if Israel goes ahead with unilateral annexation, the EU will respond with sanctions.