LAFAYETTE, La. (Daily Adverister) — Acadiana businesses received more than $1.1 billion across more than 11,000 federal Paycheck Protection Program loans, newly released data reveals, as a means to offset the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
New data from the PPP stimulus that began this spring was released by the Small Business Administration this week showing 11,414 forgivable loans went to businesses across Acadiana to save an estimated 119,471 jobs, as reported by the businesses seeking the loans.
That’s roughly half of the jobs in the eight-parish Acadiana region, according to estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In Acadiana, the loan amounts averaged around $9,400 per job saved. Across the state, that figure was around $9,200. In Acadiana, the average loan was worth around $98,400. In Louisiana, the average was $95,300.
The Acadiana region’s 11,414 loans are about 14.6% of the total received by Louisiana businesses, and the region makes up about 15.1% of the total money received by the state. The PPP helped Louisiana businesses save around 812,000 jobs — 14.7% of which were in Acadiana.
Acadiana’s PPP loans were dominated by oil and gas, health care and manufacturing companies, A Daily Advertiser analysis of SBA data shows. The three industries combined made up more than 42.2% of all the money given to businesses in the region.
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas companies received around $168.1 million in PPP loans, about 14.9% of the money sent to Acadiana. Health care and social assistance companies received $159.5 million, or 14.2%. Manufacturers received $146.8 million, or about 13.1%.
More than 200 loans were given to religious organizations, including schools, in the region, totaling about $13.4 million, with Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School in Lafayette getting the largest loan at $994,600. That was followed by Our Savior’s Church in Broussard with $989,500 and the Catholic Diocese of Lafayette at $942,900.
Statewide, health care businesses received more money than any other category, with $1.1 billion or about 15% of the total money received in the state. In Louisiana, mining and oil and gas companies received about 5.6% of the $7.4 billion given out to Louisiana businesses.
Acadiana’s oil and gas companies made up 40.2% of all the money given to Louisiana oil and gas businesses.
While oil and gas businesses led total funds received in Acadiana, it was the healthcare industry that saw the largest number of jobs reported saved by the PPP funds, with 20,776 of the region’s nearly 120,000 reported retained jobs coming from healthcare businesses. That was followed by 14,906 jobs in restaurants and hotels, 12,946 jobs in retail sales, 11,297 jobs in manufacturing and 9,501 jobs in mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction.
Most of Acadiana’s $1.1 billion in federal stimulus was concentrated in just 10 of the regions cities and towns, which amounted to $957 million, or about 85%, of the funding approved for the eight-parish region.
Acadiana PPP Funds by City or Town
- Lafayette $484 million
- Broussard $118 million
- New Iberia $101 million
- Scott $49.3 million
- Abbeville $42.4 million
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