Third in a series of surveys conducted since the start of the pandemic

(Regional) — Results from a new business impact survey issued to businesses located in North Central Massachusetts highlight the continued impacts to the local business community due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This survey was conducted by the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the MassHire North Central Workforce Board, the Montachusett Regional Planning Commission, NewVue Communities and many of the cities and towns in North Central Massachusetts.

This new survey was the third in a series of surveys conducted by the Chamber since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first two surveys, conducted in March and October of 2020, provided critical information on the immediate impacts to businesses and insight on the support most needed by businesses to weather the economic challenges caused by the pandemic. The third survey was intended to collect fresh data and to evaluate the continuing impact of the pandemic to local businesses over time.

This survey was conducted online between April 1, 2021 and April 30, 2021 in both English and Spanish. One hundred and eighty-seven responses were received, representing businesses from all twenty-seven cities and towns located in North Central Massachusetts. Respondents reflected the top industries in the region including healthcare, manufacturing, retail, food and beverages, financial services, education and agriculture among others.

Fifty percent of the businesses and organizations reported losses in 2020 when compared to 2019, with nearly 20% reporting losses of 50% or more. This was a modest improvement over the previous survey in October, where nearly 64% reported losses. When asked about the first quarter of 2021, nearly 42% reported losses compared to the same period the previous year. Approximately 43% reported that they expect it will be more than six months before their operations return to a normal level versus 54% in the Fall survey. Nearly 17% of respondents estimated they could stay operational on current cash flow and reserves for six months or less; versus 25% in the previous survey conducted in the Fall. Thirty-eight percent of the businesses responded that they had difficulty getting employees to return to work citing health and safety concerns, current unemployment, child care and adult care as the top reasons. Some businesses noted falling behind on rent and other bills, while the vast majority reported increased costs due to additional sanitation or shifting operations online.

Over 56% of the respondents indicated that they were completely open, while 40% indicated that they were only partially open in a limited way and the remainder were still closed due to the pandemic. This represented a slight change over the Fall where 50% responded that they were completely open and 46% responded that they were open in a limited way. Of those closed, the majority responded that they were planning to reopen (76%) while the others reported that they were unsure if they would be able to reopen. For comparison, during the Fall survey 69% responded that they planned to reopen, 23% responded that they were unsure and 7.69% responded that they were closed for good.

Financial programs to mitigate layoffs such as the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) was the top response when asked what businesses were using to

mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by reduction in expenses and grants from federal, state and local sources. Hiring, recruiting and retaining employees was the most requested resource when respondents were asked what resources, beyond financial assistance, would be most helpful. Communications, marketing, and social media to reach their customers was the second most requested resource. When asked how has the pandemic has changed their business plan for the next year, over 34% responded that they have no plans to change to their operations followed by “Not sure” as the next top response. Nearly 20% indicated that they plan to hire more employees and nearly 15% plan to expand their business in the next year. While the Fall survey indicated that nearly 76% of respondents indicated that the pandemic had some type of negative effect on their business/organization, the results showed a minor drop to slightly over 63% in the Spring survey.

“Despite the tremendous uncertainty, the survey results show that many businesses in the region continue to adapt to the challenges brought on by the pandemic.” said Roy Nascimento, President & CEO of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce. “The surveys we conducted have been very helpful in evaluating the impacts of the pandemic over time, and continue to inform our efforts to help support our businesses and communities.”

“The Covid-19 Economic Impact Survey conducted by the Chamber is a vital instrument that provides our region with information that we can utilize to collectively build a stronger region post pandemic,” said Jeff Roberge, Executive Director of the MassHire North Central Workforce Investment Board. “This information will help shape our workforce development efforts and strategies over the next several months”

“We’re proud to have worked alongside the North Central Massachusetts Chamber in this effort. These results will play a critical role in gauging the pandemic’s impact on local businesses, allowing us to identify challenges as we chart a path towards recovery. We look forward to continuing this partnership as we develop and implement solutions in the months ahead” said Glenn Eaton, Executive Director of The Montachusett Regional Planning Commission. “

“Thank you to the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce for leading the way on this survey, allowing us to gather important information about small business needs in our region,” said Marc Dohan, Executive Director of New Vue Communities. “In a continually changing environment, it has been critical to get this information over time from a broad range of businesses. The results will help us design effective strategies to support businesses and residents as we all recover from the pandemic.”

Although the survey results included large businesses, the vast majority of respondents would be considered small businesses by federal standards with less than 500 employees and gross revenues less than $10 million per year. More specifically, nearly 75% reported less than 20 full time employees and 58% reporting gross income of less than $1 million. The majority of the businesses that responded were also primarily established, existing businesses in the community with an average of 32 years of operations.

A complete copy of the report can be found on the Chamber’s website at www.NorthCentralMass.com.

Article Source: State House News Service

Author: Matt Murphy

 

Vaccinate 70 percent of the adult population with at least one dose by July 4? No sweat. Already done. What’s next?

President Joe Biden set a new vaccination goal for the country this week as Americans seek their independence from the COVID-19 pandemic, but with Massachusetts already there what’s next is a new, more targeted phase in the state’s vaccine campaign.

Gov. Charlie Baker announced that he would begin to phase out mass vaccinations sites, with four of the seven slated to close by the end of the June. As Gillette Stadium, the Danvers DoubleTree Hotel, the Hynes Convention Center and the Natick Mall end their runs as vaccine centers, the administration plans to divert more of its vaccine supply to regional sites, mobile clinics and primary care doctors.

The administration hopes this will help reach some of the people who have been harder to coax into getting a shot, particularly in communities of color.

The state had its own goal when it started putting vaccine in arms in December: to fully vaccinate 4.1 million Bay State residents. It’s on track to reach that milestone by early June, as supply seems to have finally caught up to demand.

“This represents an incredible achievement. The people of Massachusetts are outperforming the rest of the country by leaps and bounds,” Baker told reporters at a State House press conference.

The vaccine program in Massachusetts was once a political soft spot for Baker, but rather quickly it has hardened into something the governor boasts about quite often. That warrants watching as Baker considers whether to seek a third a term and Democrats size up the once untouchable Republican.

Baker raised just $9,429 in April, fueling chatter on social media about his future, and Attorney General Maura Healey is reportedly message testing for a potential run for governor. But whether she takes the plunge or not, the state’s vaccination campaign and where it goes next figures to feature prominently in next year’s gubernatorial contest.

Healey spoke to the New England Council this week where she defended her stance that public employees should be vaccinated in order to return to work, although she specified that she really means state workers who interface with the public regularly. Even with that caveat, she is at odds with Baker, who prefers persuasion over mandates for state employees when it comes to the vaccine.

As an employer getting ready to welcome its workforce back, the state has not had the cash-flow problems that many small businesses have had over the last year – small businesses like Vivian and Juan Acevedo’s Panela Restaurant in Lowell.

Panela was a recipient this year of one of the more than 15,000 relief grants handed out by the Baker administration to help companies weather the pandemic, but just as the federal Paycheck Protection Program ran out of money this week, the administration’s $687 million business relief program also ran dry. Baker was in Lowell to hand out the final $5 million.

The grants may have helped some employers keep their workers on the payroll, but many business still face steep bills for unemployment insurance after layoffs and furloughs depleted that state’s UI fund.

Business owners have been given an extension on their first quarter bills while lawmakers and the administration try to figure out what to do, but the policymakers are not closer to a solution as they wait to hear from the federal government whether they can use some of the billions of dollars from the American Rescue Act to shore up the fund.

Despite a weak national jobs reports that showed hiring slowing with 266,000 jobs added in April, Bay State businesses remain bullish on the recovery. Associated Industries of Massachusetts’s business confidence index dipped ever so slightly in April, but employers are still expecting a solid rebound this summer, and that is evident in place like Cape Cod.

“Everyone has got the help wanted sign out,” said Wendy Northcross, CEO of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce. “It’s actually a good time to be a prospective employee, and you’re sort of in the driver’s seat now.”

Sen. Julian Cyr, of Truro, said the problem could now become a shortage of workers, citing the lack of affordable workforce housing as a growing problem, as well as the region’s reliance on foreign workers for the summer months.

With the summer tourism season around the corner, the Department of Revenue announced that it would be returning to its regular schedule for the payment and remittance of sales, meals and lodging taxes to the state on June 30.

Not that the state needs an advance on cash.

The April revenue report from DOR showed that the state is way ahead of where it was last year through 10 months of the fiscal year and well ahead of collecting what lawmakers budgeted. So far, collections have exceeded projections by $1.83 billion for the year, and that’s with a delayed tax filing deadline to May 17.

The $3.86 billion in taxes collected in April exceeded the total from last April by 95 percent, for obvious reasons. Less obvious, is how the Legislature and Baker will attempt to spend what increasingly looks to be a surplus amassing for the end of the fiscal year on top of the billions in federal relief money that must be allocated.

The windfall might not end there, though.

When federal stimulus funding runs out and the economy stabilizes, wealth tax advocates say the state will still need the estimated $2 billion that could come from a proposed surtax on millionaires to invest in education and transportation.

The 4 percent surtax, which would be tacked on to household earnings above $1 million, requires a second affirmative vote of the Legislature to reach the 2022 ballot, and advocates launched a campaign this week to remind lawmakers why they supported the so-called “millionaires’ tax ” in the first place.

Rep. Jim O’Day, the sponsor of the Constitutional amendment, said it’s likely the Legislature will wait on the “Fair Share Amendment” until maybe the fall rather than vote next week when a joint session of the Legislature will convene to consider amendments to the constitution.

But O’Day thinks the proposal will get its vote, in spite of renewed pushback from some business-backed think tanks who are trying to slow it down.

“If you look at what’s going on on Wall Street, you’ll know that Wall Street is doing just as well. Main Street, maybe not quite as well as we need for Main Street to be doing. So, for me, the excuse of the pandemic somehow raising additional concerns, additional issues, with whether or not this particular piece of legislation should not continue to go forward is really a red herring,” O’Day said.

Final round results in nearly $4.8 million in grant awards to 108 additional businesses; More than $687 million in direct cash payments delivered to 15,112 of state’s hardest hit businesses

Today, Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy, legislators and key partners celebrated the success of the Baker-Polito Administration’s COIVD-19 business relief program administered by the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC). Gathering in person at the family- and minority-owned Panela Restaurant in Lowell, a program grantee, the Administration announced the end of the program, which has provided over $687.2 million in direct cash grants to 15,112 businesses across the Commonwealth. Among the awardees included in the final round were 108 additional businesses that received a total of approximately $4.8 million in COVID relief grants. First launched in October 2020 as part of the Administration’s Partnerships for Recovery initiative to stabilize and grow the Massachusetts economy, this program became the biggest state-sponsored business relief program in the nation after being infused with an additional $668 million in December. Established to provide direct financial support for businesses, the Administration has tapped numerous partners to ensure specific economic sectors and priority demographics known to be the most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic applied to the program and were prioritized for aid.

Over the duration of the program, 43 percent of MGCC grants were awarded to minority-owned businesses, and 46 percent of grants went to women-owned businesses. Businesses owned by veterans, individuals with disabilities, or that identify as LGBTQ, as well as those operating in Gateway Cities and not previously awarded aid, also received substantial grant support. Additionally, one-third of the total program funding (about $224 million) has benefited the hard-hit restaurant and bar industry, with personal services like hair and nail salons ($91 million), and independent retailers ($62 million) rounding out the top sectors.

​“Thanks to the work of Mass. Growth Capital, more than $680 million in direct financial assistance has been deployed to over 15,000 businesses across Massachusetts, many of which are located in the communities that have had the greatest need during this pandemic,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Recognizing that our small business community employed close to half the Commonwealth’s workforce prior to the pandemic, this program has been instrumental in helping to keep these enterprises going while supporting a substantial percentage of our workforce as we approach what we hope are the final months of this public health crisis.”

“This program, which was designed to provide vital support to small businesses in need, is one component of our larger strategy to help the Commonwealth’s economic recovery from this unprecedented public health emergency,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “I want to applaud MGCC for their success with this program and thank their partners for helping to spread the word, which allowed us to provide direct support to those businesses that have been hit the hardest, including minority- and woman-owned businesses, restaurants and downtown retailers.”

The 15th and final round of awards totaled approximately $4.8 million in grants to 108 additional businesses. Among the final round of recipients, grants were awarded to 25 minority-owned, and 26 women-owned businesses; 24 recipients were located in Gateway Cities, and 28 businesses had not received any prior aid.

“I want to express my deepest gratitude to Larry Andrews and his team at MGCC for going above and beyond in their efforts to ensure that this important aid went to businesses located in Gateway Cities, met a demographic priority such as being minority- or women-owned, or were operating in sectors among the hardest hit during this pandemic,” said Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy. “In addition, I’d like to thank MGCC’s partner organizations, which include Amplify Latinx and locally the Entrepreneurship Center @CTI with us today, who truly made this program successful because of their extensive outreach to the communities that are traditionally underrepresented.”

To increase applications from underrepresented groups and achieve equitable access to funding, MGCC worked with a statewide network of local non-profits, small business technical assistance providers, and other organizations that support minority enterprises to reach businesses and entrepreneurs that would match the program’s priorities. These partners include the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA), Amplify Latinx, the Business Equity Initiative, the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations (MACDC), LISC, LEAF, the African Community Economic Development of New England (ACEDONE), and the statewide Coalition for an Equitable Economy.

“The success of this program was a direct result of the leadership of the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Secretary Kennealy; and the team at MGCC, who rose to the occasion to stand up a new program and deliver an unprecedented amount of relief to small businesses across Massachusetts that have been impacted by the pandemic,” said MGCC President and CEO Larry Andrews. “Also critical to this program’s success was the extensive network of partner organizations, including Amplify Latinx, for their work to reach out to businesses that serve communities of color, groups that have been disproportionately impacted by the virus, or who are traditionally at a disadvantage, and provided the necessary technical assistance through the application process.”

MGCC will soon be announcing two new funding opportunities focused on small businesses. A program called Biz-M-Power will assist low-income and moderate-income entrepreneurs acquire or improve their brick-and-mortar location, purchase new equipment, and other capital needs. Businesses will crowdfund through local residents, neighborhoods, community members, and other stakeholders and become eligible for matching grants. Another new program will help small businesses access tools and services to develop their digital capabilities, including social media, website development, and team collaboration.

These awards have been part of a steady deployment of grants and capital funding to support economic recovery throughout Massachusetts and are a key part of the Administration’s larger strategy to assist small businesses and support an equitable economic recovery across the Commonwealth.

“It is essential to recognize the significance of culturally and linguistically responsive outreach to minority and underrepresented groups, which was a major contributor to the program’s success,” said Amplify Latinx Executive Director Rosario Ubiera-Minaya. “These partner organizations are all well positioned and trusted by minority communities to effectively and quickly respond to the challenges faced by these businesses. The collaborative approach centered on the partner organizations has helped ensure that the collective work going forward is as intentional and impactful as possible. Keeping direction will position minority-owned businesses for stability and growth.”

In addition to this business relief program, recovery efforts consist of MGCC Small Business Technical Assistance grants and matching grants for Community Development Financial Institutions and Community Development Corporations; the Regional Pilot Project Grant Program, which is a $5 million initiative designed to activate vacant storefronts, support regional supply chain resiliency, and create small business support networks; the $1.6 million Travel and Tourism Recovery Grant Pilot Program to promote recovery in the tourism industry; the ongoing My Local MA marketing initiative to encourage residents to support their local economies by shopping at Massachusetts businesses and attractions; and a $9.5 million effort underway to help 125 communities pursue locally-driven, actionable strategies to support downtown and commercial districts through the Local Rapid Recovery Planning program.

Today, Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito were joined by Secretary of Health & Human Services Marylou Sudders and Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Disaster Medicine Director Dr. Paul Biddinger to discuss the Commonwealth’s vaccine progress and outline the next phase of vaccine distribution.

In December, the Baker-Polito Administration set a goal of vaccinating approximately four million people in the Commonwealth. According to the CDC’s vaccine data, 3.9 million people in Massachusetts have been fully or partially vaccinated as of today. Another 180,000 people are scheduled to get their first dose in the next 7 days.

Altogether, 4.1 million are set to be fully vaccinated by the beginning of June —reaching the administration’s initial goal and representing a significant achievement for the Commonwealth.

Next Phase of the Commonwealth’s Vaccination Efforts: More Targeted, Community-Based Options

Massachusetts is a national leader for vaccine distribution across every national metric. As a result of the state’s efforts, hospitalizations and new positive cases decreased — particularly among our most vulnerable residents.

While reaching 4.1 million residents vaccinated represents progress, the administration will continue to adapt vaccine efforts to be more targeted and will shift vaccines to smaller scale operations focusing on certain populations and specific communities—such as the Commonwealth’s 20 most disproportionately impacted communities.

This next phase of the Commonwealth’s vaccine efforts will include:

• Providing all 22 regional collaboratives with doses to fully operate their programs.
• Doubling the state vaccine allocation for our 20 most disproportionately impacted communities.
• Working with the Mass Medical Society to increase access of vaccines with additional primary care providers by mid-May. This effort will require affirming complex storage and scheduling logistics to ensure all doses are put to good use.
• Expanding mobile vaccine clinics in our 20 most disproportionately impacted communities at senior centers, houses of worship and other community-based organizations.
• Working with current providers and community partners to offer new vaccine clinic opportunities.

Over 21,000 doses have been administered through mobile vaccination clinics in Boston, Chelsea, Brockton, Fall River, Springfield and New Bedford. Mobile clinics have been particularly effective in our equity communities and to reach people of color. So far, 61% of vaccine recipients at these clinics have been people of color.

New vaccine clinic opportunities have already started to be stood up. Some examples include:

• The Metro North Regional Collaborative’s three new clinics at the Encore Casino in Everett, Tufts Campus in Medford and at the Cambridge Health Alliance location in Somerville.
• Boston Medical Center’s new vaccine scheduling location at the South Bay Shopping Center.
• Mobile clinics in Lynn, New Bedford, Worcester and Fall River at local churches and temples in different languages.
• The City of Brockton’s clinic at the Westgate Mall and at different municipal housing complexes.

Mass Vaccination Sites & Pre-Registration

The Baker-Polito Administration will also begin to transition or ramp down the state’s seven mass vaccination sites. Mass vaccination sites have played a critical role in the Commonwealth’s vaccination process in a very short period of time.

At the mass vaccination sites, the Commonwealth has administered 1.2 million doses and fully vaccinated 470,000 people since the first site opened at Gillette Stadium on January 18th. The state expects to administer around 250,000 second doses in May and another 180,000 first doses across all providers over the next seven days.

With millions of people vaccinated, the demand for high throughput mass vaccination sites will gradually decline, and more vaccines will be dispersed more widely across communities.

The administration will gradually close four out of the state’s seven mass vaccination sites by the end of June (Gillette Stadium, Hynes Convention Center, Double Tree in Danvers & the Natick Mall).

We will soon begin to accept walk-ins at select mass vaccination sites. Information about availability for walk-ups will be reflected on VaxFinder.mass.gov soon.

Appointments for some sites will also be available at VaxFinder.mass.gov or by calling 211.

Since the pre-registration system was launched, over 1.8 million people registered and have been offered an appointment at least twice.

In the coming weeks, the state is anticipating that the CDC may authorize vaccines for children ages 12-15, and we will keep pre-registration available for parents who may want to bring kids to a mass vaccination site.

More details to come when the CDC determines the next steps on this.