Page 20 - BusinessWest January 10, 2022

OUTLOOK 2022/THE REGION >>
Vince Jackson, executive director of the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, said many businesses returned to 2019 levels of revenue
last year, and many others that didn’t at least came close, with expections that they will in the year ahead. But
in many ways, the situation is similar to what the region was experiencing a year ago. As 2021 dawned, there was a general feeling that the worst was over and that ‘normal’ was maybe a quar- ter or two away. The reality was much different, of course.
“
changing. The outlook could be one way today, but end up being very different. We didn’t know what to expect at the end of 2020 as we headed into 2021, and we were just hoping for the best. And ... here we are again, ending the year with a lot of uncertainty, just as much
One of the things we learned from 2021 is that things are ever-
VINCE JACKSON
uncertainty going into 2022.”
“One of the things we learned from 2021 is that things are ever-changing,” he explained. “The outlook could
be one way today, but end up being very different. We didn’t know what to expect at the end of 2020 as we headed into 2021, and we were just hoping for the best. And ... here we are again, end- ing the year with a lot of uncertainty, just as much uncertainty going into 2022.”
As the new year starts, Jackson noted, many business owners, espe- cially those in the retail and hospitality sectors that dominate Northampton’s economy, are looking for more con- sistent statewide direction regarding masking, vaccinations, and other COV- ID-related matters.
“Most business owners are looking for guidance on masking so that they don’t have to end up being the mask police,” he said, adding that many have questions about whether masks should be mandated or simply advised, because business can be lost depend- ing on the answer.
Like Sullivan and others we spoke with, Jackson said 2021, or at least a short slice of it during the summer, provided a glimpse of what everyone is hoping for in 2022.
“As the year went on, things got better,” he recalled. “Summer came, the economy reopened, and people were ready to get outside and return to a sense of normalcy. We saw that in almost every sector of business, and the response was beyond expectations because of the community’s response, the public’s response, to returning to what was normal for them.
“From a restaurant standpoint, there was outdoor dining for those not quite ready to get out as much, and there was still takeout. But then, there was a whole statewide initiative to push indoor dining because we had the vaccines and things were safe,” he went on. “As I look back, I think we need to learn from history because we’re kind of in the same cycle in most people’s minds.”
Looking back at 2021, Jackson said the dominant limiting factor for most businesses was workforce. It kept many restaurants closed an additional day,
or even two, each week, and it kept
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ECONOMIC OUTLOOK 2022
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