NATCHEZ — Sales tax receipts in Natchez dropped more than 6 percent in the most recent reports.

March’s sales tax numbers, which reflect business that took place in January 2016, are approximately 6-percent lower than those of January 2015.

The City of Natchez’s January 2016 sales tax revenue was $384,877, compared to $410,000 in January 2015.

This month’s numbers show the very beginning of the Natchez Tricentennial Celebration, in which local tourism is expected to increase significantly.

City Clerk Donnie Holloway said the significant drop in oil prices might have affected the sales tax numbers.

The average price of crude oil in January 2015 was $48.90 a barrel, compared to $32.58 a barrel in January 2016.

The drop in prices has caused an unemployment issue in Natchez and the surrounding areas, where many people relied on drilling for work, Holloway said.

“You’ve got drilling companies laying people off and that’s one of the biggest factors,” Holloway said. “People are not working on rigs, and some are not working.”

Some oil industry professionals would also stay in hotels in Natchez while conducting business, Holloway said.

The low oil prices can also help the tourism industry, Holloway said, because low gas prices allow more people to go on road trips.

“We’re surviving right now off of tourism,” Holloway said. “A lot of people are stirring in town.”