LGBTQ-owned businesses were less likely to get COVID relief loans, study says. Here's the data.

LGBTQ-owned small businesses received COVID-19 relief funds at a lower rate than their non-LGBTQ counterparts, even as they were more likely to apply for loans during the pandemic, according to researchers. 

The report, published by the Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement and Research and Movement Advancement Project, analyzed data from the Federal Reserve Banks' annual Small Business Credit Survey, which included questions about LGBTQ identities for the first time in 2021.

Experts told USA TODAY that "poorer economic conditions" on average among LGBTQ-owned small businesses hurt them when it came time to apply for COVID-19 relief – even though Congress said it "targeted funding to the smallest and minority-owned businesses." 

Paycheck Protection Program loan applications included a section where businesses could report being woman-owned, minority-owned or veteran-owned. But the Small Business Administration, which administered PPP loans, did not include a section "for business owners to distinguish their businesses as LGBTQ-owned," the SBA told USA TODAY in a statement.