Anyone who runs a business or works for one knows 2009 was a very rough year.
Census numbers released Thursday show just how rough it was: La Plata County workers lost more than $66 million in paychecks from 2008 to 2009, nearly a tenth of the county’s private-sector payroll.
The county had 98 fewer businesses in 2009 than in 2008.
The data shows the deep effects of the housing crash.
Construction companies of all sizes accounted for about half of La Plata County’s business losses and the loss of 513 jobs.
The biggest drop in income came in the real estate sector, where the county’s annual payroll fell from 2008’s level of $24 million to less than $13 million a year later.
Ed Morlan, executive director of the Region 9 Economic Development District, was not surprised by the data, and he isn’t sure if the situation has improved since 2009.
“It doesn’t seem to be getting any worse,” Morlan said.
Although La Plata County remains the economic hub of the Four Corners, Montezuma County’s business suffered less in 2009. The county’s private-sector payroll fell by less than 4 percent. The number of businesses shrunk slightly in every sector, with the biggest losses in construction and retail trade.
Montezuma saw a slight increase in its real estate payroll, to $2.6 million.
San Juan, Dolores and Archuleta counties came out similar to La Plata, with a loss of about a tenth of their private income.
Donna Graves, a research consultant for Region 9, also was not surprised to see steep declines in real estate in 2009.
“That was really the test year,” Graves said.
Difficulty in the housing market spilled over to other sectors like construction and retail, she said.
It was a national trend.
“During the early years of the decade, the nation saw steady, if moderate growth in the number of establishments year to year,” said William G. Bostic Jr., associate director for economic programs at the U.S. Census Bureau, in a news release. “In contrast, the years 2008 and 2009 coincided with the recession and showed declines. In 2009, we also saw a drop in the number of employees.”
The numbers come from the 2009 County Business Patterns, which is published by the Census Bureau.
The bureau used data from the Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration and Bureau of Labor Statistics to compile Thursday’s report. The 2009 numbers are the most recent ones available, and they do not include most government or farm employers or self-employed people.
jhanel@durango herald.com
