admin
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many aspects of life in the United States.
Chief among them has been the effects on the economy around the country and across the state.
Scott Sattler, director of the Perry County Economic Development Authority, narrowed the focus even further Tuesday, addressing the economic repercussions of the pandemic on the Perry County economy during the Perryville Chamber of Commerce’s Coffee and Connections event at the Catalyst Center for Business in Perryville.
“We’ve never had an event like this,” Sattler said, referring to the pandemic. “It’s not really the fault of anyone. It’s a once-a-lifetime thing that has affected everyone.”
Perry County saw a decrease in small business revenue of 40 percent when the schools closed and the Perry County stay-at-home order went into effect in early April. There was a spike in June of nearly 70 percent as businesses began to open back up. It has slid down to a 22.4 percent from the start of 2020 until the end of July.
“That has a lot to do with the fact that we are clear for a while, then we get a few positive cases and people stay home,” Sattler said. “That is why our revenue changes so much.”
To extend that even further, small business workers, such as those in restaurants and retailers worked 43.8 percent less hours, at the worst point in May workers were putting in 55.7 percent less hours than in January.
Sattler explained that employment also saw a rise in Perry County during the height of the pandemic in April. The county is usually one of the lowest rates in the state of Missouri. One of the biggest reasons for the spike was the shutdown of TG-Missouri.
“When they shut down, that threw about 1,300 people into the mix. When you’re dealing with percentages and Perry County has a little under 20,000 people, a big number like that can drive that percentage up.”
Perry County actually saw the second highest rise in unemployment was Taney County, which is the Branson area, which thrives on tourism. Perry County saw a rise in unemployment claims to 1,320 claims between mid-March to April 1. Right now. Perry County is seeing 98 initial claims per week. During normal times that number is about five claims per week.
Sattler went on to explain that there are many good things happening in Perry County including the new location for Burger King is on track, TG Missouri is expanding its paint shop and the American Tractor Museum just had its grand opening this past weekend.
“There’s a lot of good things happening, which helps us get back to some sense of normal,” Sattler said.
Perry County is better off than much of the state as a whole with Missourians losing a total of 346,000 jobs in March and April. It has gained more than 122,000 (35 percent) back in May and June. Overall consumption is down 3.6 percent compared to January. That varies by industry as grocery has stayed steady up 9 percent, but restaurants are down 30 percent and entertainment was down 58 percent.
“If you look at it we are slowly coming back, but there is so much uncertainty with the virus right now, especially with schools starting to open up,” Sattler said. “Businesses are taking it slow.”
