KILLEEN, Texas — Holidays like Labor Day usually come with weekend-long sales that boost the economy but, what impact are Labor Day sales expected to have this year?
Last summer the pandemic shut down businesses and had a drastic impact on the economies around the world and here in Central Texas.
This year companies are able to host their annual Labor Day sales events and there is no shortage of people day advantage of the deals.
However, economists say it might not help as much as they would hope and COVID is playing a big factor.
”The Delta variant has definitely had an impact on consumer confidence and it’s at the lowest point that is has been in the last six months. Even though it is higher than last year, it has definitely suffered because of the resurgence of the pandemic,” said Dr. Rob Tennant, Interim Department Chair, Accounting Finance and Economics at Texas A&M Central Texas.
The spread of the Delta variant leading to fewer people going out and spending money at stores and restaurants.
Even though spending isn’t where it was before COVID, economists believe that more and more people returning to work will help the economy continue to grow.
”All over the country, you can see that people are making decisions to get back to their lives. So, even though there might be some bumps along the way, it is going the right direction,” said Dr. Tennant.
With more people returning to work, the economy is in a much better place than it was this time last year and sales oever the holiday weekend are expected to give the local economy a little boost.