Small businesses have taken big hits in the last few years. News 12's Kristie Reeter looks at the impacts that has on so many aspects of the economy statewide.

Small businesses help the state when it comes to providing jobs and the tax revenue they generate. Caleb Silver with Investopedia gives a look at the small business trends in New Jersey.

“We are tracking small business activity by the amount of hours worked. The amount of hourly clock ins at small businesses through Homebase, which is a data and analytics company, and when you look at New Jersey, it is faring best among all states in the tri-state area. It has got the best recovery,” says Silver. “Hours worked fell 7.2% from August from July but they had recovered throughout the summer. So small businesses were on their way back except for a little hitch in the past month."

When it comes to the impacts small businesses have on the overall economy in New Jersey, this is what Silver has to say, “Small businesses are huge for New Jersey. It’s employing 1.9 million people, or 49.5% of the workforce, so it's a key employer in the area. One third of small businesses in New Jersey actually closed in 2020 so they saw a big dip there, but New Jersey generates some $37.9 billion in overall tax revenue so much of that comes from those small businesses across the state."