AEDC Shares Insights from Its Recent COVID Business Impact Survey

The survey ran from August 14-21 with 195 responses. Overall results included:

• 85% of respondents said they experienced disruption due to COVID-19—primarily resulting in changing work patterns (shift to remote work) and impacts to sales and revenue, with a number of businesses reporting they have laid off staff as well.
• Industry data indicated that the sectors most impacted (by response to “Have you experienced any disruption in business due to COVID-19?”) are health care (100%), tourism (100%), wholesale/retail (100%), non-profit (89%), construction (90%), and transportation (92%).
• While 9% of total respondents said they closed permanently due to COVID-19, 21% of respondents from the Finance/Insurance/Real Estate said they had closed permanently—the highest rate of permanent closure in responding industry sectors.
• Nearly 70% of survey respondents reported a decline in revenue, with 20% saying the decline was between 10 and 20%.
• Employment: across all industries, 43% of businesses reported having made employment reductions; when asked whether they expect to make employment cuts in the future, 12% said yes and 46% said no. Notably, 40% said they didn’t know, evidence that significant uncertainty still looms in the local employment market.
• Supply chains and vendor relationships are showing signs of recovery, with 57% of respondents who indicated that they had experienced supply chain disruptions reporting they were “partially recovered” and 92% of respondents with impacted vendor/service provider relationships reporting they were also “partially recovered.”
• Positive news: when asked if their business was at risk of closing permanently due to COVID-19, 80% of businesses replied “no.”
• AEDC, in partnership with Alaska Pacific University, added a new question to determine small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) strategies for survival. Businesses were asked “what leadership and employee skills, tools, and knowledge that have helped or will help sustain your business?”  Most common among those selected were creative problem-solving (68%), leadership during crisis (66%), and financial planning and analysis (54%).

Online survey responses were solicited via direct email, AEDC’s electronic newsletter, and the communications arm of the Mayor’s Economic Resiliency Task Force, which AEDC co-chairs.

Full survey results can be found here.