NOTEWORTHY.

• Position: COVID 19 and the economy

Some 47% of small business owners are not optimistic about their company's success in 2021, with more than 59% reporting less revenue than originally expected in 2020. Black business owners are experiencing even more prevalent and severe impacts from the pandemic, according to a study by H&R Block, which found that over half of black-owned small businesses have endured at least a 50% decrease in revenue during the pandemic, compared to 37% among white business owners.

The cost of a business data breach--in terms of revenue, reputation, legal exposure, and operational disruption--can be devastating, relates Drip7, an employee cyber training platform. Global cybercrime costs are expected to reach 10.5 trillion dollars by 2025, up from three trillion dollars in 2015. Sixty percent of small and medium-sized businesses close within six months of experiencing a cyber-attack. More than 90% of all cyber-attacks are executed using information from employees who unwittingly give away their system ID and access credentials to hackers.

Cleaning supply purchases are up 14% nationally since the start of the pandemic. Cash-back platform Ibotta took a look at spending habits by category before and during COVID: kitchen surface cleaners (up 68%); all-purpose cleaners (up 49%); cleaning tools (up 19%); dish detergents and soaps (up 12%); bathroom cleaners (up six percent); laundry supplies (up five percent). "It is interesting that all-purpose cleaners are having a nearly 50% increase while bathroom cleaners are up just six percent," says Ibotta CEO Bryan Leach. "Hopefully, that's because we were always cleaning our bathrooms well."

Here are some insights from U.S. college students who answered questions from Intelligent.com concerning the pandemic: 63% are considering changing their major or career path; 33% are thinking about taking time off from school due to restrictions brought on by COVID; about 50% are more likely to look for remote work after graduation; over half say their mental health is worse due to the coronavirus situation.

Ninety-five million Americans, or 60% of the labor force, are unable to work...