The executive director of the trade group HospitalityMaine says some federal help is coming for Maine small business owners.
"We believe what's in there is going to make a major difference for Maine hospitality businesses and most importantly employees."
Steve Hewins says the $2 trillion package passed by Congress includes a number of provisions aimed at incentivizing small businesses to keep employees.
"It provides funding to businesses that could be a forgivable loan provided that they employ their staff. "
The loans will also be subject to additional requirements, the details of which are not yet clear.
Maine's seen a significant increase in the number of people seeking unemployment as businesses affected by the spread of the new coronavirus let go of staff. The Maine Department of Labor reports the number of first-time unemployment claims topped more than 21,000 last week.
