Though large, corporate failures are what’s grabbing the headlines these days (such as GM, Extended Stay and Six Flags), there has been another crisis brewing — that of the small business failures.
A recent report issued by Equifax states that commercial bankruptcies almost doubled from March 2008 to March 2009 — a staggering statistic. The Western part of the U.S., including California and Texas, was the hardest hit. Equifax states that Los Angeles, Riverside/San Bernardino and Sacramento metropolitan areas led the nation in small business bankruptcy filings in March 2009.
There were some dramatic increases year-over-year in commercial bankruptcy filings in a number of Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA). The Chicago MSA increased to 199 bankruptcies from 67 in March 2008; Dallas increased to 162 from 73; Portland to 145 from 65 and Denver 157 from 58.
Other hard-hit metro areas during that same month include:
- Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL
- Anaheim-Irvine, CA
- Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX
- Denver-Aurora, CO
- San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Oakland-Fremont, CA
- Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA
- Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX
- Oregon (excluding the Portland MSA)
- California (excluding previously mentioned MSA’s)
- Seattle-Bellevue-Everest, WA
On the other side, the cities with the fewest small business bankruptcy filings are:
- Gainesville, Fla.
- Lafayette, La.
- Lynchburg, Va.
- South Bend/Mishawaka, Ind./Mich.
- Springfield, Mass.
- Trenton/Ewing, N.J.
- Amarillo, Tex.
- Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa
- Durham, N.C.
- Fayetteville, N.C.
Do you feel that small businesses are hurting in your area? Or are they faring well compared to the corporate giants?