Assessing the impact of Hurricanes Helene and Milton on small businesses

After making landfall in Florida on October 9, 2024, Hurricane Milton swept a path across the state, affecting 34 counties, many of which had already been exposed to Hurricane Helene only a few days earlier. The counties Milton affected are collectively home to almost 60 percent of the state’s MSMEs. Those 1.9 million small businesses employ about 4 million people and generate more than half a trillion dollars in revenue. Of these 34 counties, the 25 that endured winds of greater than 58 miles per hour are home to 35 percent of the state’s MSMEs.

Six Florida counties—Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto, and Hardee—were hardest hit by the storm, experiencing hurricane-force winds of more than 74 miles per hour. These counties are home to almost half a million small businesses, employing nearly one million people and generating about $130 billion in revenues.

About 2.6 million employees of MSMEs based in counties affected by Hurricane Milton work for enterprises that employ one to 19 people. These businesses account for roughly 65 percent of the total employees and 48 percent of the total economic output of the Florida MSMEs in the hurricane’s path.

Self-employed workers and microenterprises (defined in this exhibit as nonemployer businesses and employer businesses with fewer than 20 employees) can be particularly vulnerable to exogenous disruptions. Florida counties in Milton’s path are home to a disproportionate share of self-employed workers (24 percent of all employees in those counties—including the employees who work for larger companies—as compared with 18 percent across the United States).

Milton’s path cut relatively evenly across a wide range of Florida’s small-business sectors, affecting 50 to 60 percent of small businesses in most sectors. The healthcare sector leads the way in workforce numbers, with about 476,000 people employed by MSMEs in hurricane-affected counties. The construction and professional-services sectors are not far behind. In-person sectors, including retail—which has approximately 333,000 workers employed by MSMEs in Milton’s path—could potentially feel more pronounced effects related to the storm. The personal-services and real estate sectors, in which 80 percent of workers fall into the more vulnerable self-employed and microenterprise segments, could face substantial challenges.

Of North Carolina’s roughly 1.1 million total MSMEs, about 471,000 are based in the 39 counties that FEMA designated for individual disaster assistance as of October 21, 2024. These small businesses in Helene’s path collectively employ about 1.1 million people and produce about $168 billion in revenues. Affected counties include Mecklenburg and Buncombe, home to the important population centers in, respectively, Charlotte and Asheville.

In the North Carolina counties hit by Hurricane Helene, enterprises with fewer than 20 employees produce $72 billion of economic output. That’s about 42 percent of the total economic output of those counties’ MSMEs. The affected counties host a large share of self-employed workers (18 percent of all employees in those counties, including employees who work for larger companies) and microenterprises (14 percent of total county employment).

Helene’s sector-level impacts in North Carolina were relatively evenly distributed, affecting approximately 40 to 50 percent of the state’s MSME firms, employees, and revenues across most sectors. In the affected counties, healthcare MSMEs, with a total of roughly 132,000 employees, topped the list in worker populations, followed by construction MSMEs and accommodation and food services MSMEs. MSMEs in the wholesale trade, with their roughly $34 billion in collective revenues, had the most sector-level economic output put at risk. The professional-services and construction sectors feature a large proportion of workers—about 70 percent—in the more vulnerable self-employed and microenterprise segments.