The East Valley Chambers of Commerce Alliance (EVCCA) conducted the fourth in a series of surveys of its more than 5,000 members to determine the immediate economic impact of COVID-19 on their revenue, operations, and supply chains. The report includes responses from 20 industry sectors and nearly 70 percent of respondents represent businesses with less than 20 employees.
It should be noted that this survey was completed prior to the Maricopa County mandate to wear masks in public. Saying that, more than half the respondents are open with employees working onsite, with twenty-four percent hosting employees onsite and remotely.
Fifty-one percent of employers noted there has been no change to their employee count during COVID-19. Fourteen percent have hired new staff. Forty percent have combined reduction in hours, a hiring freeze, layoffs, and terminations as means to reduce overhead expenses.
Top concerns expressed were acquiring and retaining customers due to lingering COVID-19 fears, followed by the ability to pay expenses, overhead and payroll. Employee stress, obtaining funding to continue operations and supply chain disruptions rounded out the top concerns of respondents.
Thirty-six percent of those who applied for the SBA EIDL loan still have not been funded. More than forty-nine percent of respondents noted they could survive less than 16 weeks of business slowdown/shutdown before permanently closing. Twenty percent of those could survive up to 8 weeks.
To view the published report, visit https://gilbertaz.com/uploads/ImpactReport630.pdf
