The Effect of COVID-19 on Canadian small businesses’ owners and their employees

摘要: A large fraction of employers are small businesses. Using the Canadian Labour Force Survey (LFS), we document how the self-employed, which we interpret as small business owners, and employees of small businesses are being affected by COVID-19. We find large decreases in the number of small business owners, in aggregate hours worked, and number of employees in small firms from February to December 2020. Our research confirms increasing small business ownership and aggregate hours as provinces reopened their economies in the summer of 2020. Still, these increases often remain below pre-March 2020 levels with some demographic groups, such as less educated and immigrant small business owners, having considerably worse outcomes. We use occupational indexes to understand further why certain small business owners are more affected. We provide evidence that the impact of the pandemic was significantly less severe for self-employed workers that can work remotely and essential workers.