BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) -Researchers at Texas A&M have been studying the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on our economy all year.
The Private Enterprise Research Center recently released it’s latest report from two surveys done in the last several months.
Some of the findings were that two out of three businesses in the Brazos Valley still say they’re making less money each week than they were last year.
Witt’s End business owner Karen Kasper says they’ve seen business pick up in the last month.
“We haven’t made up our loss but we’re on track as opposed to last year for the last two months and I’m very thankful for that and it gives me hope going into the spring,” said Kasper.
Kasper says community support is what’s got them this far.
“November was good, we almost matched last November so that to me is very promising and I’m very thankful,” said Kasper.
Despite unemployment numbers being up, Kasper says she’s been able to keep her six employees.
“They’re a part of our family and for a couple of them they’re the only breadwinners,” said Kasper.
That’s true for about half of businesses in the survey but across the Brazos Valley, one in four businesses say they’ve cut jobs by more than 25 percent.
Boardwalk Spa, Nail and Hair Salon Owner Jennifer Beard says they’ve also been lucky to keep their 26 staff members.
“A few moved out of town to be home with their families. People decided that if they were permanent they really wanted to be around family members and loved ones,” said Beard.
Beard says being closed for seven weeks hurt but numbers aren’t too far behind.
“Normally we see about 1,000 guests a month. Right now I’m seeing about 800 a month and so it’s slightly down but a lot of it is people having to quarantine,” said Beard.
Both owners say January is always a slow month but faith in the community keeps them going.
“We just have such a good team that I feel really strong about our success and thriving here,” said Beard.
“We want to be here for the community, for these people long term. It’s not just about today, tomorrow, or this month, it’s long term,” said Kasper.
The first survey was completed in July and shows that 65 percent of business owners expected to do better in 2021. The latest survey done in November shows that number has dropped to 36 percent.
For more information on the survey results, click here.
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