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More Than a Third of US Small Businesses Couldn’t Pay All Their Rent in October

The Ohio River stands in front of businesses in Pomeroy, Ohio. — The Ohio River stands in front of businesses in Pomeroy, Ohio.
Photographer: Ty Wright/Bloomberg

By

Alexandre Tanzi

October 31, 2022, 6:23 PM UTC

Rent delinquency rates among US small businesses increased significantly this month, a new report shows.

About 37% of small businesses, which between them employ almost half of all Americans working in the private sector, were unable to pay their rent in full in October. That’s according to a survey from Boston-based Alignable, a network of 7 million small business members. It’s up seven percentage points from last month and is now at the highest pace this year, the survey showed.