BRAC is producing a weekly economic indicator dashboard as part of our business recovery priorities. The dashboard examines and assesses the impact of COVID-19 on the regional economy, taking into account a number of data points to illustrate the economy’s current state, and to keep businesses informed as it begins to steady and rebound. Past dashboards are archived on brac.org/recovery.
Key takeaways from this week’s dashboard include:
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- Hourly employment at small businesses rose several percentage points in East Baton Rouge and Livingston, but nearly 7% in Ascension, which is approaching pre-pandemic levels;
- While both initial and continued unemployment claims have fallen weekly in the Capital Region for the last month, claims are still nearly 3,000% higher than the week preceding pandemic closures;
- Both public transit data and traffic counts show significant over-the-month increases, reflecting the increase in activity once Phase One began;
- Although hotel revenue is still down considerably, likely due to lower rates, occupancy is still on the rise. The week ending May 23 saw occupancy up to 73% of what it was on a similar week in 2019;
- Retail and recreation mobility for the region was down only 6% from pre-pandemic norms last week; it was down 30% from those norms a week earlier.