Partnership President and CEO, Bob Harvey, addressed members of Houston’s leading business organization on Thursday, April 16, providing an update on COVID-19’s impact on the region’s business climate and an overview of actions the Partnership is taking to support Houston's business community throughout the crisis.

Federal Funding Update
Harvey’s address began with an update on the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the $2 trillion dollar package passed in late March intended to provide immediate aide to individuals and small businesses. The most notable aspect of the CARES Act being the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides $350 billion in federally guaranteed loans to businesses with 500 employees or less and can be forgiven provided the funds are used maintain payroll employees or go toward other qualifying expenses. Harvey noted that Houston businesses began receiving direct deposits of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds beginning last Friday, adding that, “it is a reflection of the great support we have received from Houston banks and the guidance and support that businesses have received from the Partnership, the local SBA office, and many others that Houston businesses appear to be faring well in this first come – first served process.” Harvey added that a COVID 4 package would replenish PPP funds and possibly include funds for state and local government and hospitals, among other things. Funding for other issues, such as infrastructure, will likely be deferred until a later piece of legislation – call it COVID 5.

Houston Economy Update
Partnership Senior Vice President of Research, Patrick Jankowski provided a recent update on the economy, which provided analysis on how Houston is dealing with the combined impact of the virus and the effect of the collapse in oil prices. Harvey A notable takeaway from this update was Houston’s climbing unemployment rates. The region has seen three consecutive weeks of very high unemployment claims with about 180,000 in local claims alone. That number is expected to stay high, as Harvey noted, we could easily see another 100,000 in the weeks ahead. Based on the filings from March and early April, Houston’s unemployment rate is probably around 8.6%. Houston’s record rate for unemployment was 12.9% in June 1986. Harvey also discussed the Partnership’s Houston Business Barometer survey, which is a weekly pulse survey of 850 Partnership member companies with less than 500 employees designed to help the organization know how these companies are doing and suggest courses of action for the Partnership. Some key takeaways from the latest survey are: 

• Economic indicators are getting worse. Furloughs and layoffs are up as revenue continues to drop across all industries. One-fifth of companies are reporting layoffs or furloughs.
• No surprise – The hospitality industry is hardest hit, with 90 percent indicating at least partial shutdowns to their operations and 100 percent showing "severe" impact to their business. 
• Goods producers are faring better than most everyone else, with fewer workforce reductions and revenue losses as construction firms and manufacturers continue to operate.
• Professional service firms are offsetting revenue losses with pay cuts. Most professional firms are continuing full operations remotely, but more are cutting salaries to make-up for lost income.

More on the Houston Business Barometer survey can be found here. 

COVID-19 Activity and Programming
In an effort to support members through the COVID-19 crisis, the Partnership has launched several activities and programs that are designed to provide timely information and business resources for businesses impacted by the virus. Below are a few of the Partnership’s efforts: 

• Work Safe Program One of the Partnership’s areas of focus is around the “Work Safe” part of Harris County Judge, Lina Hidalgo’s, “Stay Home-Work Safe” Order. Working with the city and the county, the Partnership developed the “COVID-19 Work Safe Company” program that encourages companies who are still operating to do so safely by adhering to 10 principles designed to ensure the safety of essential employees. As of this post, 130 Partnership members have committed to becoming a Work Safe Company. If your company is continuing operations, we encourage you to learn more about the program and take the pledge here.
• Greater Houston Business Recovery Center The Partnership has also launched the Greater Houston Business Recovery Center to engage with Houston businesses and connect them to the resources needed to stay afloat and positioned for recovery. The Center aims to inform our members and the broader Houston business community about the federal lending programs and other resources that are available to small and mid-sized businesses and non-profit organizations. Business owners can access all of the most up-to-date information and resources related to business recovery from experts like the U.S. Chamber, Small Business Administration, Texas Workforce Commission, regional small business development centers and many others. Learn more here. 
• Community “Stay Home-Save Lives” Campaign While those first two programs are focused on businesses, the Partnership began a campaign last week that is focused on broad community messaging called the “Stay Home-Save Lives” campaign. As part of this, the Partnership produced a PSA that is airing in both and English Spanish on major local networks. Additionally, a number of local celebrities have also posted personal videos on their social media channels to help spread the word to #StayHomeHTown. Thus far we’ve seen videos from Jim Nantz, Michael Strahan, Josh Reddick from the Astros and Tina Lawson Knowles (Beyonce’s mother). These videos can be found on the Partnership’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. To see the PSA, click here. We encourage you to share these posts on your own social media accounts to encourage those across our entire community to stay at home and help curb the spread of COVID-19. When sharing please remember to use #StayHomeHtown. 
• Digital Programming The Partnership is known for offering our members and Houston’s business community many ways to convene and connect at our events and programs. During this time of social distancing, the Partnership has found a way to continue to connect leaders and experts with our members to discuss timely topics that impact Houston’s business community through virtual programs. The Partnership’s COVID-19 Houston Business Forum, held each Tuesday and Thursday, offer our members presentations with local experts discussing the latest information and analysis on the COVID-19 crisis. In addition to our Business Forum, we are also pleased to share that we reconvened our Business Resource Groups (BRG) and are restarting our weekly Council meetings on Tuesday afternoons. For a list of upcoming programming and more information, click here.  

COVID-19 Virus Update
Harvey provided a brief update from the Texas Medical Center on Houston’s infection rate, hospitalizations and modeling that provides insight into how social distancing measures are impacting capacities. These updates can be viewed here. Harvey noted that by virtue of the social distancing steps we have taken as Houstonians and the “Stay Home-Work Safe” Order has certainly begun to flatten the curve. He added that while we have been successful thus far, it is far too early to declare victory, and that even with a stable or declining trend, it can reverse be reversed if we do not continue to social distance.

Restarting Houston’s Economy 
Houston’s work to flatten the curve has allowed us to start a conversation about how we can restart the Houston economy. The Partnership is working on behalf of the business community and other stakeholders to develop guidelines and resources for businesses and provide policy recommendations to local leaders on the steps needed to restart safely, sustainability and successfully. To discuss this topic, Harvey was joined by Partnership Senior Vice President of Public Policy, Taylor Landin, who shared that the Partnership is beginning to look at the elements that will need to be in place in order for Houston’s economy to start to reopen. To do this, the Partnership has outlined a series of principles that will guide restart efforts, including: 

• Balancing public health and economic activity considerations
• Recognizing Houston’s economic diversity 
• Acknowledging the role that businesses play in keeping our community safe and functioning 
• Ensuring essential business’ workplaces are safe 
• Prioritizing coordination between stakeholders and actors that will have to work together to achieve a successful restart plan 
• Empowering local policy making 
• Ensuring restart plans are made equitably and consider the impact of decisions for vulnerable populations 

Landin stressed that while restarting Houston’s economy is a top priority, it be an iterative process. 

Before closing the address, Harvey extended a special thanks to Partnership members and business and community leaders for their leadership throughout the COVID-19 situation, “We know Houston and its people are resilient and have worked together through disasters before. We know that these unprecedented, trying times will be hard but I am confident that as we continue to work together, Houston will come out stronger in the long run” said Harvey. 

Visit the Partnership's COVID-19 Resource page for updates, guidance for employers and more information. And sign up for daily email alerts from the Partnership as the situation develops. 

Get Involved with the Partnership
The Greater Houston Partnership is a member-based organization representing 1,100 member companies across the 11-county region. Alongside our members, the Partnership works to convene, promote and advocate for Houston's business community in times of both tremendous growth as well as those times that are trying. The Partnership is here for Houston's business community as we face COVID-19 together. To learn more about getting more involved in the Partnership or to become a member, click here or email member.engagement@houston.org.