The new SBA data provides a snapshot of the types of businesses that received loans this year and the sizes of the loans. The average loan across all industries was $78,000, and about 70% were for less than $50,000.
About three-quarters of the companies taking money in this round, which began in mid-January, also received PPP funds last year, the data shows. So far, about $104 billion has been lent to more than 1.3 million businesses in the 2021 program, which has a total of $284 billion in funds. The PPP has aided companies struggling with COVID-19 challenges by providing forgivable, SBA-backed loans to help them retain their employees.
