Hurricanes Helene and Milton caused major disruptions to small businesses in Florida

Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which hit Florida in late September and early October, respectively, caused significant damage to small businesses in the Sunshine State.

A new analysis by Home BaseThe payroll and employee management website shows Florida took a bit of a hit after Helene spiked Florida’s west coast on Sept. 26. Milton then proceeded toward the Gulf Coast before crossing the state peninsula on October 9 and 10.

Small business activity fell 40% in October from September and 30% from October 2023.

According to Homebase research, certain areas hardest hit by tropical eruptions saw the biggest impact on small businesses. Three regions experienced the sharpest declines in business activity in the last three years.

Sarasota experienced a 46.7 percent decline in three years. St. Petersburg wasn’t far behind, with a 45.5% decline in business activity, and Tampa came in with a 38.4% decline in jobs over three years.

“Across Florida, we are seeing a 21.4% decrease in the number of employees and a 20.8% decrease in working hours. Homebase analysis shows this trend in Sarasota, St. It’s even more severe for cities like St. Petersburg and Tampa, he said.

Many businesses and residents are still trying to recover from the double-barreled onslaught of storms. But Homebase said it took many companies half a month to get their operations back on track.

“It took an average of two weeks for small businesses to recover from Hurricane Helene, which may be indicative of Florida’s recovery period,” Homebase analysts said.

The workforce in Florida was significantly negatively impacted by the storms.

“Compared to the week of September 8, St. Petersburg saw the most significant decline in hours worked, down 53.9%, and employees working, down 52.2%,” Homebase said. “Tampa came in a close second, with a 48.7% drop in hours worked and a 48% drop in employee work rate.”

Homebase analysis is consistent with the U.S. Department of Labor (PROGENY) weekly figures on new unemployment claims. The week ending October 5, the first full week after Hurricane Helene. I saw one big spike in first-time weekly unemployment claims for unemployment benefits. Initial unemployment applications were the highest number of applications this year with 9,377. There was an increase of 3,842 requests compared to the previous week.

The following week, ending October 12, Florida returned to more normal new unemployment claims, with more than 6,000 claims, and the week after Hurricane Helene saw a larger number of unemployment claims for the first time. Initial unemployment applications were 10,574. Week ending October 19The U.S. Department of Labor had its highest single-week number of claims before seasonal adjustments this year (PROGENY) was announced on Thursday. This represents an increase of 4,275 claims compared to the week ending October 12; The most significant weekly increase this year.

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