The number of open small businesses in Texas’s largest metropolitan areas remains well below pre-pandemic levels. However, as effective vaccines rollout, the outlook for the year has brightened for the beleaguered small business sector, says a report by Beacon Economics.

As of early February, the Dallas metropolitan region is one of Texas’ best recovered areas with the number of small businesses that are open and operating just 26.7 percent below pre-pandemic levels. The Houston metro has fared worse with 34 percent fewer open small businesses, but has performed somewhat better than Austin and San Antonio, each of which report 38 percent fewer open businesses compared to one year ago.

“While these latest findings underscore just how badly small businesses have been curtailed by the pandemic, with new cases of the virus falling and vaccinations rising, the outlook for small business is much brighter for the coming year,” said Taner Osman, research manager at Beacon Economics. “The state has also begun assertively lifting business restrictions, signaling a resurgence in economic activity that should accelerate as the year advances.”