SmartAsset Study: PPP Loan Funding vs. COVID-19 Infection Rates in New Jersey
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), offering SBA loans that help businesses keep their workforce employed during the COVID-19 crisis, depleted its allocated $349 billion in less than two weeks and there has been controversy over the issuing of the funds.
Has government coronavirus relief money ended up in the hands of those who need it least?
In a new study, SmartAsset crunched the numbers to see how PPP loan funding compares to COVID-19 infection rates in each state. While our findings show that there is no correlation between the two metrics (meaning the percentage of a state’s eligible payroll covered by PPP does not fluctuate in relation to infection rates), there are some noticeable outliers, including New Jersey and New York.
In these two states, COVID-19 infection rates are high, but PPP loan funding is low. New Jersey has the second-highest infection rate nationwide and the fifth-lowest rate of PPP funding (50.21%). Despite having the highest infection rate, New York has the second-lowest rate of PPP funding (44.44%).
The full report, including the methodology and infographics, can be found here:
https://smartasset.com/
