The Asian Business Association of San Diego announced Wednesday it will undertake a survey in an effort to measure the impact of COVID-19 on businesses owned by Asian and Pacific Islanders in the area.
The association this week will send out more than 7,000 electronic surveys to businesses in San Diego, Chula Vista and National City. The questions will relate to employee retention, financial assistance and hate crimes to explore exactly what issues Asian/Pacific Islander business owners faced in the last year.
The deadline for completing the survey is Sept. 28.
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Jason Paguio, president and CEO of the ABA, quoting a recent report from AARP and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, noted that Asian entrepreneurs aged 45 and older experienced higher rates of revenue losses and other related business woes when compared to their white, Black and Latino peers.
"Local business owners are years away from recovering financially from the pandemic and are still in need of greater business assistance," Paguio said. "We believe that the findings from this survey will help inform the community and local decision-makers on the work ahead to ensure every business in San Diego County is back on track."
In addition to the survey, the ABA will host in-person survey solicitations in "commercial areas with higher concentrations of Asian and Pacific Islander-owned businesses, such as the Convoy District and Little Saigon in City Heights" later this month, according to the association.
The survey will also be available in Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean and Chinese. Prospective volunteers can contact ABA Survey Manager Vince Vasquez at vince@abasd.org.
