Filter: Blogs

While retail businesses in 10 states across the Heartland received a share of PPP loans greater than or equal to their share of total firms, retail businesses in the other 10 states and other services businesses in all states did not receive their fair share. This could be due to the types of businesses that make up these industries and how the PPP loans were distributed.

Manufacturers in Ohio had the highest participation rate in PPP among Heartland states. In roughly one-third of Heartland states, manufacturers received a greater share of PPP loans than they represented among firms. Among the remaining 13 states, the manufacturers’ share of PPP loans in seven states were within ten percent of their share of all employer firms.

Hospitality industry businesses across the Heartland likely did not receive their fair share of loans in PPP.

Across racial and ethnic categories, Hispanic female-owned businesses received their fair share of PPP loans; in most states, however, female-owned businesses across all five racial categories did not receive a proportionate share of PPP loans to employer firms.

Asian-owned businesses are more likely to be employer firms, and they likely received an equitable share of PPP loans in most Heartland states. American Indian-owned firms, which are much more likely to be non-employer firms, likely did not receive their fair share of PPP loans throughout the Heartland. The disparate employment pattern may explain in part why Asian-owned firms faired better than American Indian-owned firms in receiving PPP loans.

The vast majority of Black- and Hispanic-owned businesses in the Heartland do not have employees, and that may have resulted in the two groups receiving inequitable shares of Payroll Protection Program loans.