BRAC’s Economic Indicator 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 rebounds. Past dashboards are archived on brac.org/recovery.
Key findings from this week’s dashboard include:
- Continued claims were down more than 11% over the week and fell in every Capital Region parish. This is the lowest number of claims since March 28;
- Retail fuel sales were higher over-the-year for both the state and the region, and have now trended positively since the Spring;
- Although low wage jobs rose slightly in the new week of data, they still remain down 17%, while middle wage jobs are down 4%, and high wage jobs are actually up 1% from pre-pandemic numbers;
- Hotel occupancy was much higher last week than on the same week in 2019, and revenues were up more than 50% over-the-year;
- While mobile data shows that more people are going to work than in previous weeks, travel to retail stores and recreational facilities is lower.