Vulnerable, yet Resilient: The Impact of Covid-19 on Latino-Owned Businesses in South Omaha

Authors:

Cristián Doña-Reveco, University of Nebraska at Omaha
Marissa Cuellar, University of Nebraska at Omaha

Date: April 2022

Complete Report
Executive Summary
Resumen Ejecutivo
OLLAS Blog: Underserved and Underestimated: The Potential of Latinas to Reduce Poverty

Abstract:

The effects of COVID-19 have been felt broadly, across Omaha’s Latino community. Latino-owned businesses are a group of particular relevance due to the importance that local business, economic development, employment, and wealth creation have on the community as a whole. Using survey data collected between September 2021 and January 2022 among Latino business owners in South Omaha, the current study seeks to provide an exploratory and descriptive analysis of the impact of the pandemic on this group. The survey was applied to a non-random convenience sampling of 121 Latino business owners. Thus, there is no intention for this survey to be representative of the entire population of Latino business owners, but rather to present an overview of the impact of the pandemic on the growing Latino community in South Omaha. This report is divided into five sections. First, we present a demographic overview of the business owners and the characteristics of their businesses pre-pandemic to set the context for the effects and response to the pandemic. Second, we describe the owners’ perceptions of the impact that the pandemic has had on their business and their corresponding industry. Third, we compare the owners’ perceptions of COVID-19’s impact between the two “pandemic years”: 2020 and 2021. Fourth, we analyze the recovery prospects as presented by these business owners. In the last section, we present the owners’ perception of the support provided by government agencies and the community.

Keywords: Latino-owned business; COVID-19; Survey; Perceived effects; Pandemic impacts; South Omaha