Officials: Businesses felt pain, but economy holds up

Local leaders said they knew of no widespread business closings of COVID-19 or the measures imposed to fight the virus. But that doesn’t mean that businesses have not been affected.
The businesses local leaders said were hurt the most were bars and restaurants.
“Of course a number of businesses have closed, but as far as if they’re gone for good?” said Parish President David Hanagriff. “No, I don’t think we’ve had many at all that I know of that have been gone for good, but … that’s a delayed process,” Hanagriff said, wondering if some of the businesses can survive even with restrictions beginning to be lifted.
According to preliminary U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for St. Mary Parish in December, the unemployment rate was 7.9%. That’s the lowest it’s been since March 2020 when it was 7.7%. In February 2020, it was 7.7%.
Since then, the rate skyrocketed to 14.4% in April 2020 and reached a peak of 14.8% in the last year in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics data, before beginning to improve monthly except for a bump of over one point to 10.4% in October 2020.
“As far as COVID is concerned, clearly there are some winners and losers here,” Hanagriff said. “The Big Box stores, the Walmarts of the world, they’ve actually done pretty decent and weathered pretty well with overall sales tax increase and everything else showing that they’ve actually done pretty well compared to the small mom and pop businesses. And of course the bars and restaurants have been hurt and continue to be hurt.
One area that has been impacted for the past year that has been given some relief with Gov. John Bel Edwards’ recent easing of restrictions is live music.
Local musician Cliff Hillebran said before the pandemic, he had 8-10 bookings per month. But since the pandemic began, he had zero either in his solo work or as part of The Anytime Band.
“Last week I started booking again, finally getting gigs back since they allow bands in bars again,” he said.
During the past year, he said, he has recorded some music for the radio from his home. While it feeds his passion, Hillebran said there isn’t a lot of money to be made there.
While he works in the oil and gas service industry and music is a side business, Hillebran said he has invested a lot financially in it.
Although the thought of giving it up may have popped up in his mind, “but if it’s something you love with a passion like that, it’s hard to do that.”
It remains to be seen what positive impacts locally are recognized in municipalities from the $1.9 trillion stimulus package signed into law last week.
“If you supported it or not, it’s coming,” Hanagriff said. “So we’re looking to see what advantages we can get and what opportunities are there for St. Mary Parish in the stimulus package.”
Morgan City Mayor Lee Dragna said those funds could make an impact on infrastructure rather than a municipality’s economy.
In Morgan City, Dragna said that he has seen sales taxes up about 5% so far this year over what was budgeted, which he attributes to the Paycheck Protection Program for businesses and stimulus checks for consumers.
He noted that sales taxes in the city were about what they were anticipated in 2019 and they were higher than anticipated in 2020.
He said right now, the economy is “holding its own” in Morgan City.
“I’m not saying that the economy is good by any means, but it’s been in a slump for the last few years, right? So if it’s kind of maintaining its own right now and not keep slumping.
“I think we’re about as good as you can get right this second with what we have to work with,” Dragna said. “But do I believe that it’s going to get better as the year goes on? I don’t think so. I think it’s kind of like a bump.”
In Berwick, Mayor Duval Arthur said the economy is doing “very well.”
He noted that the town has added a few businesses last year, even with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m sure it’s affected a lot of businesses,” Arthur said of the pandemic. “The ones that it’s affected most were restaurants and bars. We have one bar, and it’s still open, and one restaurant, and it’s still open. So it really hadn’t affected us.”