Since March 2020, Congress has passed various laws designed to curb the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate the pandemic’s damage to the nation’s economy. One of the key legislative provisions was the creation of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), designed mainly to help small businesses and sole proprietors meet payroll commitments during the crisis. The program has been allocated a total of $953 billion in three rounds of funding in March ($349 billion), April ($320 billion), and December ($284 billion). This report evaluates the impact of the PPP in New York City measured against the program’sobjective of maintaining small-business employment during the pandemic. The analysis provides an overview of the program’s operation, an evaluation of the distribution of loans contrasted with local demographics, and a discussion of issues and measures related to the new (third) round.
NY
United States