BRYAN, Texas — Business and employment in the Brazos Valley are down compared to this time last year, largely due to COVID-19 pandemic. According to a recent survey sent to Brazos Valley businesses, the economy may be seeing a slow and steady trend upward.
The Private Enterprise Research Center at Texas A&M University and the Bryan/College Station Chamber of Commerce sent local businesses two surveys. The first survey was conducted on Jun. 8-16 and the second was administered Nov. 2-6.
The questions had to do with how well the Bryan/College Station's operations and supply chains, workforce and finances have been doing throughout this year.
The results show the local economy is not performing the same as it was last year, including factors like taxable sales and hotel & alcoholic beverages taxes in a decline.
However, comparing business operations from June to November, the average operating percentage is six points higher. Half of the businesses were operating at above 90 percent in November.
About 67 percent of businesses in November reported a decrease in weekly revenues. In June, 69 percent say they saw a decrease.
Looking at employment numbers, nearly 50 percent of businesses who responded in November had no change to pre-COVID numbers.
However, local businesses are not as hopeful as they were in June.
About 36 percent expect they will be in better condition in 2021 than in 2019 and 24 percent expect to be in the same condition. In June, 65 percent of businesses expected to be in the same or better position in 2021 compared to 2019.
Those who conducted the study said the most surprising thing about the survey was the number of businesses who applied for the Paycheck Protection Program.
"It seemed locally to be something that people and firms participated in," said Andrew J. Rettenmaier, the executive associate director, Private Enterprise Research Center. "They didn’t hesitate to take advantage of [the PPP] and went through the logistics of figuring it out. That is very commendable.”
A total of 217 follow-up surveys were completed in November. There were 499 respondents to the initial survey in June.
The two surveys were funded by the Office of the Provost at Texas A&M University.
For more information on the results, click HERE.