he COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating effects on the US economy. The forced shut down of businesses across the nation has sent many small business owners into financial turmoil, many of whom lack the capital reserves to weather the extended forced closure of their businesses.

A foreseen result of the government’s actions to close many brick and mortar businesses is the significant uptick in commercial bankruptcies. A September CNN report stated that big business bankruptcies are up 120% for the year.  October 2020 data has shown that commercial bankruptcies are up more than 33% this year. Further, September 2020 data showed a 78% increase year-over-year from September 2019. Quite a disturbing trend.

New COVID-19 cases have begun to surge as the winter season begins. The country is set for a new administration to take power in January with stated directives to focus back on shelter-in-place mandates in an attempt to curb the pandemic. Forbes Senior Contributor, Pamela Danzinger surmises that 2021 will likely be even worse. it would seem safe to reason that this trend of business bankruptcy filing will continue to trend upward for the foreseeable future.

Newsworthy Links:

1. https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/11/business/bankruptcies-recession-economy/index.html
2. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-bankruptcy/u-s-commercial-bankruptcies-up-33-year-to-date-idUSKBN26Q2ZF
3. https://www.abi.org/newsroom/bankruptcy-statistics
4. https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/us-corporate-bankruptcy-count-in-2020-nears-500-as-filings-continue-to-climb-60249430
5. https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2020/10/07/retail-bankruptcies-will-go-from-bad-to-worse-in-2021/?sh=62d8c8ba3b07