Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | June 7, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 15 M E M B E R F D I C | M E M B E R D I F You've worked hard for your business. That's why at Country Bank, we work hard to help it succeed. Whatever your business banking needs, we're here for you with smart banking products, lending expertise, and personal guidance. We'd be honored to be your bank. Visit countrybank.com/business to learn more. W E M A K E I T TO HELP YOURS THRIVE. our business 2 7 8 P A R K A V E , 3 1 5 M A I N S T R E E T , W O R C E S T E R P U B L I C M A R K E T I N T E R A C T I V E A T M M I D - Y E A R E C O N O M I C S U R V E Y F O C U S on medical and education industries, especially in Worcester, are responsible for these positive figures. While dense, urban areas were hit the hardest, Glass- man is optimistic and believes numbers will continue to strengthen this year and the next. ree elements that are aiding economic recovery, Glassman said: 1) Fiscal supports due to an accumulated backlog of money. 2) More money in the pipeline due to $1.9-trillion COVID-19 relief bill. 3) e Federal Reserve keep- ing rates artificially low until "we get where we need to be". "e most impressive growth will be in the areas/sectors that were hit the hardest," Glassman said. ese sectors include hospitality, medical, education, and the restaurant industry. Because of social distancing guidelines, the service industries suf- fered the greatest. However, Glassman said the public is desperate to return to a sense of normalcy and wants to get out of their homes aer months of lock- downs. As a result, this will aid in the rapid recovery of service industries. Glassman said GDP may have returned to pre-pandemic levels, but employment has not. As a result, the goal is to re-energize the workforce and get Americans back to work. Glassman and MacDonald agree domestic travel is skyrocketing since the public wants to travel but is still wary about international excursions due to COVID-19 safety. MacDonald said this change in travel habits greatly benefits the domestic economy as travelers explore the U.S. and keep their spending in this country, which benefits areas such as Central Massachusetts by attracting tourists. MacDonald said during the coming year the public's urge to retain a sense of normalcy will drive economic recovery. "Going to be like the Roaring 20s. It's going to be one big party," he said. While the service industries were greatly impacted, demand for physical goods exploded and stabilized. Glass- man and MacDonald attribute the growth of physical goods to the vast increase of online shopping and home renovations as people were stuck in their homes. eir clients who worked in industries such as home improvement, auto sales, and physical good manufac- turing did extraordinarily well. e pandemic accelerated the course that companies were already destined to follow, MacDonald said. For exam- ple, if companies already had an online presence as part of their business plan or were already looking at transition- ing online, then they had the ability to quickly adapt to the pandemic. Howev- er, companies already mismanaged or facing decline were unable to convert their models quickly enough to with- stand the pandemic. "is is the one event where it wasn't a fizzle or a bubble, but the government shut everything down. It was a brick wall," he said. Glassman said a new energy is in the economy as new businesses were opened during the pandemic. Within each business sector, Mac- Donald described individual businesses as balancing each other out since some businesses were able to adapt, find niches, and thrive during the pandemic while other companies had issues and struggled. The Worcester grocery store D'Errico's Market. Economic forecast professionals are predict- ing a resurgence in the retail industry, although grocers did well during the pandemic. PHOTO | GRANT WELKER W

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