If you think Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans to small businesses in Utah have made a significant impact, you’re right.

The U.S. Small Business Administration Utah District Office has announced that by the end of May, nearly 48,000 PPP loans had been approved totaling almost $5.2 billion flowing into the hands of Utah small businesses.

“This volume of loan approvals equates to approximately 30 years of annual loan approvals Utah made in less than three months, according to data from SBA’s Frequently Requested FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) Site,” said Utah District director Marla Trollan. “If we conservatively estimate that each business has five employees, that figure translates to 239,675 jobs potentially saved. That’s more than the population of Salt Lake City.”

To date, the average PPP loan size is $108,000, which is below the average loan size of the Utah District Office’s 7(a) loan program in fiscal year 2019 of $424,628. “This is significant because it means more and smaller businesses are receiving assistance now,” Trollan said.