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International comparison:
For more information on this release:
E-mail: business_stats@cso.ie Colin Hanley (+353) 21 453 5559 Eamonn Cleary (+353) 21 453 5483
For general information on CSO statistics:
information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN

This release has been compiled during the COVID-19 crisis. The results contained in this release reflect some of the economic aspects of the COVID-19 situation.

It is important to note that the results presented in the survey represent responding enterprises only. The CSO acknowledges that non-response may be related to whether businesses are adversely impacted by COVID-19. If this were the case, there is potential for bias in these estimates that weighting procedures would not correct for. As such, the results presented here are unweighted.

For further information see Background Notes. Business Impact of COVID-19

CSO statistical release, , 11am

Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey

2020

Trading status of responding enterprises on 26 July 2020
% of responding enterprises
Trading96.1
Ceased trading temporarily3.0
Ceased trading permanently0.9
Total100.0

More than 96% of enterprises trading in some capacity on 26 July

Figure 1: Trading status of responding enterprises on 26 July 2020
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The Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey (BICS) has been created to measure and report quickly on the impact of COVID-19 on business in Ireland. The fifth wave of the survey was collected in the week commencing 27 July 2020.

A total of 3,000 enterprises were surveyed online for the fifth wave of the BICS, with 24.9% of sampled enterprises completing the survey. The survey reports that of responding enterprises:

  • The majority of enterprises (96.1%) reported trading in some capacity on 26 July 2020.
  • In Accommodation and Food Services, 80.6% of enterprises were trading in some capacity compared to 91.7% in the Construction sector.
  • More than nine in ten (90.8%) micro enterprises (less than 10 persons engaged) were trading.
  • Respondents to the survey reported that 3.0% had ceased trading temporarily while 0.9% had ceased trading permanently. See Figure 1 and Headline Table.

For further information, see Infographic

 

Please note that not all businesses may be in a position to respond to the Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey. Therefore, the results will only reflect the characteristics of those who responded.
X-axis labelRestarted trading
Industry10.9
Construction35.6
Wholesale and Retail19.6
Services19.4
Total19

Almost a fifth of responding enterprises restarted trading in July

  • Almost a fifth of respondents (19.0%) had restarted trading during the four-week period 29 June to 26 July 2020.
  • More than a quarter (27.4%) of micro enterprises had restarted trading in the four-week period.
  • In total, 19.4% of responding Services enterprises had restarted trading in July. Within Services, 67.7% of enterprises in Accommodation and Food Services had restarted trading.
  • Over a third (35.6%) of responding enterprises in the Construction sector and 10.9% of Industrial enterprises also restarted trading in the four-week period 29 June to 26 July. See Figure 2 and Table 1.
X-axis label29 Jun-26 Jul27 Jul-23 Aug
75 to 100% less than normal9.98.9
50 to 74% less than normal8.79.2
25 to 49% less than normal15.815.2
10 to 24% less than normal19.719.9
At or close to normal expectation34.239.9
Higher than normal11.77

More than half of respondents had lower than normal turnover

  • More than half (54.1%) of responding enterprises had lower than normal turnover for the four-week period 29 June to 26 July 2020.
  • Over a third (34.2%) of enterprises reported turnover at or close to normal expectations, while more than one in ten (11.7%) had higher than normal turnover.
  • In the Wholesale and Retail sector, 19.1% of respondents reported higher than normal turnover for the four weeks 29 June to 26 July 2020.
  • Over the same period, a higher proportion of large enterprises (42.2%) had close to or normal turnover compared to 32.5% of SMEs.
  • When estimating impact on turnover for the following four weeks (27 July to 23 August), 39.9% of responding enterprises expected to have close to or normal turnover with 7.0% expecting higher than normal turnover.
  • Just over half (53.2%) of respondents estimated lower than normal turnover for the same period. See Figure 3 and Table 2.
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Increased turnoverNo change in turnoverDecreased turnoverDon't know
Enterprises with
lower than normal
turnover
43.839.37.79.3
Enterprises with
normal or higher than normal
turnover
19.468.57.74.5
All enterprises32.3537.77

Turnover increased for almost a third of enterprises since the easing of COVID-19 restrictions on 29 June 2020 (Phase 3)

  • Turnover increased for almost a third (32.3%) of responding enterprises since Phase 3 easing of restrictions on 29 June 2020.
  • In the Wholesale and Retail sector, 44.0% reported an increase in turnover since Phase 3.
  • More than four in ten (43.8%) enterprises performing below normal expectations experienced an increase in turnover following Phase 3 easing of restrictions on 26 July 2020.
  • Almost seven in ten (68.5%) enterprises performing at or above normal expectations reported no change in turnover following Phase 3 easing of restrictions. See Figure 4 and Table 3.
X-axis labelImportsExports
Decreased21.725.9
Increased5.610.7
Not affected60.555.2
Don't know12.28.3

Imports unaffected for 60.5% of responding importers

  • During the four-week period 29 June to 26 July, more than three in five (60.5%) importing enterprises indicated that imports were not affected by the COVID-19 crisis while 21.7% reported a decrease in imports
  • For the same four-week period, more than half of exporting respondents (55.2%) reported that exports were not affected by the COVID-19 crisis compared to 25.9% which reported a decrease in exports. See Figure 5 and Table 4.

Almost half of the enterprises which expect to be negatively impacted by Brexit believe COVID-19 will worsen the impact

  • Of the 43.5% of responding enterprises which expect Brexit to have a negative impact on business:
    • Almost half (47.0%) expect COVID-19 to worsen the impact of Brexit
    • 18.1% indicated that COVID-19 could improve the impact of Brexit
    • More than a third (34.9%) report that COVID-19 will neither worsen or improve the impact of Brexit
  • Of the remaining enterprises responding to the survey, 20.0% reported that Brexit will have no impact on their business, 1.8% expect a positive impact and 34.7% of respondents don't know. See Figure 6a & 6b and Tables 5a & 5b.
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Brexit impact
Positive
impact
1.8
Negative
impact
43.5
No impact20
Don't know34.7
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Brexit COVID-19 Impact
Stronger
negative
impact
47
Neither
stronger
or weaker
negative
impact
34.9
Weaker
negative
impact
18.1
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Staff working
at their normal
place of work
Staff
working
remotely
Not
currently
working
Other
(deployed
elsewhere etc.)
Office based enterprises32.959.26.11.9
Non-office based enterprises73.813.77.84.8
Total62.825.87.34

Office based enterprises had an average of 59.2% of staff working remotely

  • Office based enterprises had an average of 59.2% of staff working remotely in the week ending 26 July compared to an average of 13.7% of staff working for non-office based enterprises.
  • Non-office based enterprises had an average of 73.8% of staff working at their normal working location compared to 32.9% of staff at office based enterprises.
  • Small enterprises had a higher average of staff working at their normal working location with 62.9% while large enterprises had the lowest average at 51.1%.
  • Large enterprises had the highest average of staff working remotely at 39.9% while micro enterprises had the lowest average at 18.1%. 
  • The overall average of staff not working in the week ending 26 July for responding enterprises was 7.3%. See Figure 7 and Table 6.

Note: Office based enterprises in this release refer to enterprises in NACE sectors J-N. For further information see Background Notes. Business Impact of COVID-19

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Returned from temporary leave Returned from remote working
Office based enterprises4.18.8
Non-office based enterprises23.38.3
Total18.28.5

An average of 18.2% of workforce returned from temporary leave

  • Responding enterprises had an average of 18.2% of their workforce return from temporary leave in the four-week period 29 Jun to 26 July 2020.
  • Non-office based enterprises had an average of 23.3% of staff return from temporary leave while office based enterprises had an average of 4.1%.
  • Micro enterprises had an average of 26.2% of their workforce returning from temporary leave, while large enterprises had an average of 10.3%.
  • Responding enterprises had an average of 8.5% of staff return from remote working to their normal place of work in the four-week period 29 June to 26 July 2020. An average of 8.8% of staff in office based enterprises and 8.3% in non-office based enterprises returned from remote working.
  • Micro enterprises had an average of 10.1% of staff returning from remote working compared to an average of just 3.3% for large enterprises. See Figure 8 and Table 6.
X-axis labelWorkplace measures
Staff remote working58.3
Rearranging workspace to facilitate social distancing78.5
Staggering shifts to facilitate social distancing36.4
Occupancy limits in the workplace41
Mandatory PPE (face covering, gloves, etc.) in the workplace54.3
Maintaining log of personal interactions to facilitate contact tracing46
Temperature screening32.1
Increased hygiene measures80.2
Protective screening for staff45.3
Other5
No measures2.7

Four in five enterprises have increased hygiene measures in the workplace

  • Four in five (80.2%) responding enterprises have increased hygiene measures in the workplace.
  • Protective screening, such as perspex screens were provided by 45.3% of enterprises for staff in the workplace.
  • More than half (54.3%) of enterprises have introduced mandatory PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), such as gloves and facemasks in the workplace.
  • Almost four in five (78.5%) enterprises have rearranged workspace to facilitate social distancing while 58.3% had staff working remotely.
  • More than two in five (41.0%) enterprises have introduced occupancy limits in the workplace while 46.0% were maintaining a log of personal interactions to facilitate contact tracing. See Figure 9 and Table 7.
X-axis labelMedian spend
Micro (<10)1000
Small (10-49)5000
Medium (50-249)10000
Large (250+)30000

Micro enterprises had a median spend of €1,000 on COVID-19 compliance measures

  • Responding micro enterprises had a median spend of €1,000 on measures to comply with COVID-19 requirements for trading.
  • Small enterprises had a median spend if €5,000 while medium sized enterprises had a median spend of €10,000 on COVID-19 measures for trading.
  • The median spend of large enterprises on COVID-19 measures to comply with requirements for trading was €30,000. See Figure 10 and Table 8.

Note: the median values are reported for the 24.9% of responding enterprises only and are subject to a high degree of variability from each wave of the survey.

 

Two in five enterprises reported no change in personnel costs

  • 40.9% of responding enterprises reported no change in personnel costs compared to original projections, 29.8% had lower than projected personnel costs and 18.0% reported higher than projected personnel costs.
  • More than a quarter (27.5%) of enterprises had lower than projected non-personnel costs up to 26 July compared to original projections prior to the COVID-19 crisis, while 32.5% reported no change in non-personnel costs. See Figures 11a &11b and Table 9.
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Personnel costs
50-100%
lower
5
20-50%
lower
10.6
Up to 20%
lower
14.2
No change40.9
Up to 20%
higher
16.6
Over 20%
higher
1.4
Don't know11.2
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Non-personnel costs
50-100%
lower
2.7
20-50%
lower
6.6
Up to 20%
lower
18.2
No change32.5
Up to 20%
higher
25.2
Over 20%
higher
2.7
Don't know12.1
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Costs exceeded turnoverCosts did not exceed turnoverDon't know
Micro (<10)1863.318.8
Small (10-49)1770.512.6
Medium (50-249)22.669.38
Large (250+)25.769.94.4
Total20.468.910.7

Business costs exceeded turnover for 20.4% of responding enterprises

  • One-fifth (20.4%) of responding enterprises indicated that business costs had exceeded turnover since the beginning of lockdown from 16 March to 26 July.
  • More than a quarter (25.7%) of large enterprises reported that costs had exceeded turnover during this period.
  • Small enterprises at 17.0%, accounted for the lowest proportion of enterprises where business costs had exceeded turnover. See Figure 12 and Table 10.
X-axis labelMeasures taken
Deferred or changed loan repayments14.6
Deferred or changed property payments
(including rent, utilities and local authority rates)
22.3
Deferred or changed revenue payments23.5
Deferred or changed payments to suppliers19.1
Increased overdraft facilities6.6
Other3.8
No measures taken57.6

Over half of enterprises took no measures to manage cashflow because of COVID-19

  • More than half of responding enterprises (57.6%) took no measures to manage cashflow because of COVID-19 during the four weeks from 29 June to 26 July 2020.
  • Almost a quarter (23.5%) of responding enterprises deferred or changed revenue payments to manage cashflow during the same four-week period.
  • Over one-fifth (22.3%) of respondents deferred or changed property payments, while 19.1% deferred or changed payments to suppliers to alleviate cashflow issues because of COVID-19. See Figure 13 and Table 11.
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Business concerns
Reduced demand due to lower consumer confidence46.8
Reduced workforce productivity13.5
Increased costs of business29.5
Maintaining cashflow29.8
An increase of COVID-19 cases leading to another lockdown64.1
Reduced availability of Government supports13.3
Other4.6
No immediate concerns10.3

Almost two-thirds of responding enterprises concerned about another lockdown

  • An increase in COVID-19 cases leading to another lockdown was among the top two concerns for 64.1% of enterprises responding to the survey.
  • Almost half (46.8%) of enterprises were concerned that the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced demand due to lower consumer confidence.
  • Almost three in ten (29.8%) respondents reported maintaining cashflow was among their top two concerns.
  • Increased costs of business was a top two concern for 29.5% of enterprises.
  • Reduced workforce productivity was a concern for 13.5% of respondents.
  • The reduced availability of Government supports was one of the top two concerns for 13.3% of enterprises.
  • One in ten (10.3%) enterprises had no immediate concerns. See Figure 14 and Table 12.

Almost three in five enterprises expressed confidence in having the financial resources to continue operating for longer than six months

  • Almost three in five (59.5%) responding enterprises expressed confidence in having the financial resources to continue operating for longer than six months.
  • Nine in ten (90.0%) enterprises were confident in having the financial resources to continue operating for more than another month.
  • However, 4.4% see their business continuing financially for less than a month. Of responding enterprises, 2.6% expressed confidence in having the financial resources to continue operating for less than one month, while 1.8% of respondents were not confident in having the financial resources to continue operating. See Figure 15 and Table 13.
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Continue to operate
Up to 1 month2.6
Up to
3 months
14.4
Up to
6 months
16.1
Longer than
6 months
59.5
Not confident1.8
Don't know5.7

Half of responding enterprises availed of Government supports from 29 June to 26 July 2020 

  • Nearly half (49.9%) of responding enterprises have availed of Government supports in the four-week period 29 June to 26 July 2020. A larger proportion of SMEs (53.1%) availed of Government supports compared to 36.0% for large enterprises.
  • The Revenue Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme was availed of by 46.7% of responding enterprises, while 11.8% availed of the COVID-19 Restart Grant from their Local Authority. See Figure 16 and Table 14.
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Government
support
Yes49.9
No50.1
Table 1 Restarted trading in the four weeks 29 Jun to 26 Jul 2020 by sector
Sector % of responding enterprises
Industry10.9
Construction35.6
Wholesale and Retail19.6
Services19.4
Total19.0
Table 2 Estimated impact on turnover in the previous (29 Jun - 26 Jul) and forthcoming (27 Jul - 23 Aug) four week periods
 % of responding enterprises
Estimated impact on turnover29 Jun-26 Jul27 Jul-23 Aug
75-100% less than normal9.98.9
50-74% less than normal8.79.2
25-49% less than normal15.815.2
10-24% less than normal19.719.9
At or close to normal expectation34.239.9
Higher than normal11.77.0
Total100.0100.0
Table 3 Changes in turnover following phase 3 easing of restrictions versus normal performance from 29 Jun to 26 Jul 2020
 % of responding enterprises
Changes in turnoverIncreasedNo changeDecreasedDon't knowTotal
All responding enterprises32.353.07.77.0100.0
of which:     
              Lower than normal turnover43.839.37.79.3100.0
              Normal or higher than normal turnover19.468.57.74.5100.0
Phase 3 easing of restrictions began on Monday 29 June 2020.
Table 4 COVID-19 impact on international trade, 29 Jun to 26 Jul 2020
 % of responding enterprises
Impact on international tradeExportsImports
Decreased25.921.7
Increased10.75.6
Not affected55.260.5
Don't know8.312.2
Total100.0100.0
Table 5a Expected impact of Brexit on business
Impact % of responding enterprises
Positive impact1.8
Negative impact43.5
No impact20.0
Don't know34.7
Total100.0
Table 5b Changes to the expected negative impact of Brexit due to COVID-19
Negative impact % of responding enterprises
Stronger47.0
Weaker18.1
Neither stronger or weaker34.9
Total100.0
Table 6 Average percentage of workforce by location in the week ending 26 Jul 2020
 % of responding enterprises
LocationOffice basedNon-office basedTotal
Staff working at their normal place of work32.973.862.8
of which:   
            Returned from temporary leave (29 Jun - 26 Jul)4.123.318.2
            Returned from remote working (29 Jun - 26 Jul)8.88.38.5
Staff working remotely59.213.725.8
Not currently working6.17.87.3
Other (deployed elsewhere etc.)1.94.84.0
Table 7 Workplace measures implemented due to COVID-19 up to 26 Jul 2020
 % of responding enterprises
Staff remote working58.3
Rearranging workspace to facilitate social distancing78.5
Staggering shifts to facilitate social distancing36.4
Occupancy limits in the workplace41.0
Mandatory PPE (face covering, gloves, etc.) in the workplace54.3
Maintaining log of personal interactions to facilitate contact tracing46.0
Temperature screening32.1
Increased hygiene measures80.2
Protective screening for staff45.3
Other5.0
No measures2.7
Table 8 Median spend on measures to comply with COVID-19 requirements for trading
Size classMedian spend
Micro (<10)€1,000
Small (10-49)€5,000
Medium (50-249)€10,000
Large (250+)€30,000
Table 9 Estimated changes in operating costs up to 26 Jul 2020
 % of responding enterprises
Estimated changesPersonnel costsNon-personnel costs
50-100% lower5.02.7
Between 20-50% lower10.66.6
Up to 20% lower14.218.2
No change40.932.5
Up to 20% higher16.625.2
More than 20% higher1.42.7
Don't know11.212.1
Table 10 Business costs exceeding turnover during the COVID-19 period, 16 March to 26 July
 % of responding enterprises
Business costsMicroSmallMediumLargeTotal
 (<10)(10-49)(50-249)(250+) 
Costs exceeded turnover18.017.022.625.720.4
Costs did not exceed turnover63.370.569.369.968.9
Don't know18.812.68.04.410.7
Total100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0
Table 11 Measures taken to manage cashflow as a result of the COVID-19 crisis in the four weeks 29 Jun to 26 Jul 2020
 % of responding enterprises
Deferred or changed loan repayments14.6
Deferred or changed property payments (including rent, utilities and local authority rates)22.3
Deferred or changed revenue payments23.5
Deferred or changed payments to suppliers19.1
Increased overdraft facilities6.6
Other3.8
No measures taken57.6
Table 12 Business concerns while currently operating during the COVID-19 pandemic
 % of responding enterprises
Reduced demand due to lower consumer confidence46.8
Reduced workforce productivity13.5
Increased costs of business29.5
Maintaining cashflow29.8
An increase of COVID-19 cases leading to another lockdown64.1
Reduced availability of Government supports13.3
Other4.6
No immediate concerns10.3
Table 13 Confidence in financial resources to continue operating throughout the COVID-19 crisis, 29 Jun to 26 Jul 2020
 % of responding enterprises
Up to 1 month2.6
Up to 3 months14.4
Up to 6 months16.1
Longer than 6 months59.5
Not confident1.8
Don't know5.7
Total100.0
Table 14 Availing of Government supports, 29 Jun to 26 Jul 2020
 % of responding enterprises
Availed of Government support*49.9
of which: 
     Revenue Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme46.7
     COVID-19 Working Capital Loan Scheme (SBCI)2.0
     COVID-19 Business Financial Planning Grant (Enterprise Ireland)1.6
     Restart Grant (Local Authority)11.8
     Other3.5
Not availed of Government support50.1
Total100.0
* Note that some enterprises have availed of more than one type of government support.

Background Notes

Introduction

The Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey (BICS) has been created to measure and report quickly on key features of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on business in Ireland.

The survey is being conducted online and covers a sample of approximately 3,000 enterprises. The first wave of the survey was collected in the week commencing 20 April 2020 while the most recent fifth wave of the survey was collected 27 June 2020.

Wave Period Covered Response Rate
1 16 March to 19 April 2020  26.0%
2 20 April to 3 May 2020 24.5%
3 4 May to 31 May 2020 27.9%
4 1 June to 28 June 2020 27.1%
5 29 June to 26 July 2020 24.9%


Statistical Confidentiality

The survey was collected from enterprises on a voluntary basis under Section 24 of the Statistics Act, 1993.

The information collected in the survey is confidential under the Statistics Act and will only be used by the Central Statistics Office for the compilation of aggregate statistics. The CSO has checked the statistical outputs of the survey to ensure that tables do not disclose details of any company. The raw data will not be shared with any other organisations.

The CSO would like to thank businesses that responded to the Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey.

Sample

The reporting statistical unit for the BICS is the enterprise. The sample size for the BICS is 3,000 enterprises. The enterprise is defined as the smallest combination of legal units that is an organisational unit producing goods and/or services, which benefits from a certain degree of autonomy in decision-making.

There was a response rate of 24.9% to the fifth wave of the survey. It is important to note that the results of the survey apply to respondents only, and that no imputation or estimation procedures have been used in the case of non-response. The CSO acknowledges that not all businesses may be in a position to respond to the survey. Therefore, as the results of the survey are unweighted, they may only reflect the characteristics of those who have responded.

Enterprises of all size classes were surveyed. The sectors of economic activity included in the survey were determined in accordance with the NACE Rev. 2 classification scheme, which is the European Commission’s classification system for economic activity. The NACE Rev. 2 sectors included in the survey were as follows:

Sector B:          Mining and quarrying

Sector C:          Manufacturing

Sector D:          Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply

Sector E:          Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities

Sector F:          Construction

Sector G:          Wholesale and retail trade; Repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles

Sector H:          Transportation and storage

Sector I:            Accommodation and food service activities

Sector J:           Information and communication

Sector K:           Financial and insurance activities

Sector L:           Real estate activities   

Sector M:          Professional, scientific and technical activities

Sector N:          Administrative and support service activities

Sector R:          Arts, entertainment and recreation

Sector S:          Other service activities

Please note that some more granular NACE Rev. 2 descriptions were also referenced in the text of this release. For further information on the NACE Rev. 2 classification scheme, please click Classifications

Data Collection and Questionnaire

The survey is collected via an online questionnaire. The topics covered are about how the COVID-19 crisis has affected business and what steps have been taken as a result – e.g. in relation to the level of business, workforce and organisational changes, access to finance, and availing of Government support schemes.

The following is a link to the questionnaire for each wave of the BICS survey:Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey

Output Classifications - Definitions

Size Class

For the BICS, the size class of an enterprise is determined by the number of persons engaged associated with the enterprise as follows:

Size Class  Number of Persons Engaged
Micro  0 - 9
Small  10 - 49
Medium  50 - 249
SMEs  0 - 249
Large  250+

A Small or Medium Enterprise (SME) is an amalgamation of the Micro, Small and Medium categories, i.e. having 0-249 persons engaged.

Sector

In the above results, there are cases where several NACE Rev. 2 categories are presented in aggregate form as follows:

Sector    NACE Rev. 2 Category
Industry  B-E
Construction    F
Wholesale and Retail  G
Services  H-N, R-S
Office-based J-N
Non-office-based B-I, R-S

Note: Some of the data presenting in the release separate Accommodation and Food Services (NACE I) from Services.

 

Other Breakdowns 

Many of the breakdowns in this release are based on the enterprise’s own best estimate at a point in time. The qualitative nature of these breakdowns has been chosen to limit burden on respondents.

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