Stoughton Unemployment Drops, But Small Businesses Still At Risk

STOUGHTON, MA — At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Stoughton's unemployment rate rose to 17.7 percent in April.

The closure of restaurants, retail stores and other industries amid Gov. Charlie Baker's initial closing of the Massachusetts economy halted Stoughton businesses for months. But fortunately in Stoughton, the town's economy started slowly bouncing back.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance, Stoughton's unemployment rate dropped to 17.2 percent in July. This is still above the state average of 16.2 percent, but the drop marked a steady improvement from June when unemployment peaked at 19.3 percent.

Still, Stoughton businesses, especially the small mom-and-pop shops are struggling, Pam McCarthy, the town's economic development director said. McCarthy said restaurants, barbershops, beauty salons and other small businesses typically found in the downtown have had the toughest time.

"It’s a mixture. There was a catering business that needed assistance, a tax business," McCarthy said. "People that do taxes, they’ve been affected because their clients aren't necessarily able to pay them right now."

According to McCarthy, many of the larger businesses in town have been able to apply for federal assistance, so she's trying to help secure grants for smaller businesses that weren't able to get coronavirus relief.

In May, McCarthy launched a survey to find out what Stoughton business owners need to weather the COVID-19 crisis. In that survey business owners said there was a need for a grant program at the local level.

In June, town officials got permission from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development to repurpose $100,000 from an existing grant to help some of Stoughton's smallest businesses.

The Stoughton Microenterprise Assistance Program was established to provide grants of up to $10,000 for 10 local businesses with five or fewer employees, including the owner. So far, McCarthy said 15 businesses applied for the grant, and eight local businesses were awarded relief.

According to McCarthy, there's even more relief on the way.

On July 11, Stoughton was awarded a $400,000 state grant from the Department of Housing and Community Development. McCarthy said the grant allows the town to provide at least 36 more microenterprises with up to $10,000 of relief.

Microenterprises that are interested in taking part in the program should review the guidelines to see if they are eligible. If the business owners believe that they are eligible for the program they can fill out an application or contact McCarthy at 781-341-1300 x9265 or pmccarthy@stoughton-ma.gov.