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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

COVID-19 Release Information

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

Current trading status on 3 May 2020
 % of responding enterprises
SectorContinuing to tradeCeased trading, (temporarily or permanently)
Industry85.514.5
Construction33.366.7
Distribution77.622.4
Services79.720.3
Total76.023.9

Almost one quarter of responding enterprises have ceased trading, either temporarily or permanently

Figure 1: Trading status of responding enterprises on 3 May 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 second wave of the survey was collected in the week commencing 3 May 2020.

A total of 3,000 enterprises were surveyed online for BICS Wave Two, with 24.5% of sampled enterprises completing the survey. The survey reports:

  • Nearly one in four (23.9%) enterprises had ceased trading either temporarily or permanently on 3 May 2020.
  • Almost a quarter (23.0%) of enterprises closed temporarily while 0.9% closed permanently.
  • More than three in four (76.0%) of responding enterprises were continuing to trade in some capacity on the 3 May 2020. 
  • Amongst enterprises who responded to both waves of the survey, one in six of those who had ceased trading temporarily by 19 April indicated that they had recommenced trading by 3 May. See Figure 1 and Headline Table.

 

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.
For long labels below use
to display on multiple lines		Continuing to tradeCeased trading temporarily or permanently
Industry85.514.5
Construction33.366.7
Distribution77.622.4
Services79.720.3
Total7623.9

Two-thirds of Construction enterprises ceased trading either temporarily or permanently

  • Two of every three (66.7%) responding enterprises in the Construction sector had ceased trading either temporarily or permanently as of 3 May 2020.
  • Over one in five (20.3%) Services enterprises had also ceased trading, either temporarily or permanently, over the same period. There were large differences within the Services sector where 69.1% of enterprises in Accommodation and Food services ceased trading, either temporarily or permanently, compared to just 8.7% of enterprises in Information and Communications.
  • In contrast, the Industrial sector had the lowest proportion of enterprises which have ceased trading, either temporarily or permanently, at 14.5%. See Figure 2 and Headline Table.
For long labels below use
to display on multiple lines		20 April-3 May4 May-17 May
75 to 100% less than normal32.930.5
50 to 74% less than normal11.214.3
25 to 49% less than normal14.514.7
10 to 24% less than normal11.813.7
At or close to normal expectation20.720.3
Higher than normal8.96.6

Seven in ten enterprises had lower turnover due to COVID-19 over the two-week period from 20 April to 3 May 2020.

  • Seven in ten (70.4%) responding enterprises had lower than normal turnover for the two-week period from 20 April to 3 May 2020.
  • All companies that responded in the Accommodation and Food sector and 90% of those in the Construction sector replied that their turnover was lower than normal.
  • Over one in five (20.7%) enterprises reported that their turnover was at or close to normal expectation, while fewer than one in ten (8.9%) had estimated higher than normal turnover for the period 20 April to 3 May 2020.
  • A higher proportion of Large enterprises (35.7%) had estimated normal turnover compared to SMEs (20.6%) for the same period.
  • While estimating impact for the following two weeks (4 May to 17 May), over one in five (20.3%) expected to have similar to normal turnover compared to just 6.6% with higher than normal turnover.
  • Nearly three-quarters (73.2%) of enterprises estimated lower than normal turnover for the same period. See Figure 3 and Table 1.
For long labels below use
to display on multiple lines		ImportsExports
Decrease5053.8
Increase2.21.8
Not affected42.137.7
Don't know5.76.6

Exports decreased for over half of responding enterprises

  • Exports decreased for 53.8% of enterprises between 20 April and 3 May 2020, while imports decreased for half (50.0%).
  • More than two in five enterprises (42.1%) reported that imports were unaffected due to the COVID-19 crisis, compared with 37.7% of exporting companies. See Figure 4 and Table 2.
For long labels below use
to display on multiple lines		Purchases of materials, goods or servicesSales of materials, goods or services
Prices have decreased more than normal2.55.5
Prices have increased more than normal9.23
Prices have not changed more than normal58.675.5
Some prices have increased; some prices have decreased16.78.1
Don't know137.9

Prices remained unchanged for majority of enterprises

  • The majority of enterprises reported that prices for both purchases (58.6%) and sales (75.5%) had not changed more than normal.
  • Prices of materials, goods or services purchased had increased for 9.2% of responding enterprises since the beginning of COVID-19 restrictions, while 3% reported a decrease in sales prices of goods or services. See Figure 5 and Table 3.

 

For long labels below use
to display on multiple lines		Workforce changes
Decreased working hours36.7
Increased working hours5.2
Staff placed on paid leave17.8
Staff let go temporarily33.1
Staff let go permanently5.9
Staff hired temporarily4
Staff hired permanently0.8
Paused or cancelled planned recruitment23
Other12.7
No changes to the workforce21.2

Almost a quarter of enterprises have either paused or cancelled planned recruitment

  • Nearly one in four responding enterprises (23.0%) indicated that they had either paused or cancelled planned recruitment as a result of COVID-19.
  • A third of respondents (33.1%) have let staff go temporarily, while 5.9% of enterprises have let staff go permanently.
  • Decreased working hours were reported by 36.7% of responding enterprises, while just 5.2% of respondents had increased staff working hours.
  • Other workforce changes reported by respondents included the introduction of shift work, compulsory annual leave and reductions to payroll costs.
  • Over one in five enterprises (21.2%) have not implemented any workforce changes. See Figure 6 and Table 4.
For long labels below use
to display on multiple lines		Workplace changes
Implemented remote working69.2
Implemented working arrangements to facilitate social distancing53.2
Reduced business operating hours24.6
Other35.4
No changes implemented4.1

Social distancing in the workplace implemented by over half of respondents

  • Over half (53.2%) of responding enterprises had implemented working arrangements to facilitate social distancing in the workplace at some point during the COVID-19 crisis. This rose to 77.4% of enterprises in the Manufacturing sector.
  • Almost one-quarter (24.6%) of responding enterprises had reduced their business operating hours due to COVID-19.
  • Almost 70% of enterprises have implemented remote working in some capacity. For Large enterprises this figure rose to 93.8%.
  • Only 4.1% of responding enterprises indicated no workplace changes had been made due to COVID-19. See Figure 7 and Table 5.
For long labels below use
to display on multiple lines		RemotelyNormal working locationOther (deployed elsewhere, on leave etc.)
SMEs (<250)28.821.718.8
Large (250+)383117.1
Total30.523.418.5

Three in ten businesses had most of their workforce working remotely 

  • A little less than a third (30.5%) of enterprises had the majority of their workforce working remotely. This figure increased to 38.0% for Large enterprises.
  • Almost a quarter (23.4%) of responding enterprises had the majority of their workforce working in their normal working location. 
  • Nearly one in five (18.5%) enterprises had most of their workforce neither working remotely or working in their normal location. This category included staff which would have been deployed to a different location, were on leave or were self-isolating. See Figure 8 and Table 6.

 

For long labels below use
to display on multiple lines		Don't knowHigh impactModerate impactLow impactNo impact
Reduced domestic demand4.546.717.911.119.8
Restrictions on business operations3.340.421.72113.7
Lower productivity4.533.718.619.823.3
Cashflow difficulties3.727.426.115.627.1
Logistics issues7.618.322.926.125
Reduced international demand1619.210.71044
Supply chain interruptions7.91624.624.427.1
Liquidity issues8.615.119.715.441.1

Reduced domestic demand had a high impact on business for nearly half of responding enterprises

  • Almost half (46.7%) of responding enterprises reported that a reduction in domestic demand was having a high impact on their business in the two week period from 20 April to 3 May 2020.
  • Over a third (36.9%) of enterprises in the Manufacturing sector stated that reduced international demand has had a high impact on the business.
  • Over half (53.5%) of responding enterprises reported that cashflow difficulties were having a moderate or high impact on their business over the same period. This rose to 90.5% for enterprises in the Accommodation and Food services sector.
  • One in three (33.7%) responding enterprises indicated that lower productivity was having a high impact on their business over the fortnight.
  • Restrictions on business operations in place over the two-week period from 20 April to 3 May 2020 had a moderate or high impact on 62.1% of responding enterprises. See Figure 9 and Table 7.
For long labels below use
to display on multiple lines		Innovations
Adopted new methods of providing products and services31.1
Adopted new methods of communication52
Introduced new products8.5
Repurposed production (e.g. to supply PPE, hand sanitiser, etc.)10.4
Other7.9

New methods of providing products or services during the COVID-19 crisis adopted by nearly a third of enterprises

  • Almost one third of responding enterprises (31.1%) have adopted new methods of providing products or services as a result of COVID-19.
  • One in ten (10.4%) of responding enterprises had repurposed some production to supply products needed during the COVID-19 crisis, e.g. hand sanitiser and so on. This increased to 20.0% for enterprises in the Manufacturing sector.
  • Less than one in ten (8.5%) of enterprises have introduced new products.
  • Over half (52.0%) of responding enterprises have adopted new methods of communication in response to the COVID-19 crisis. See Figure 10 and Table 8.
For long labels below use
to display on multiple lines		SMEs (<250)Large (250+)Total
Decreased5.96.25.9
Increased4.53.14.3
No change67.272.168.1
Don't know22.418.621.7

No change in ability to access finance according to over two-thirds of responding enterprises

  • Over two-thirds (68.1%) of responding enterprises indicated no change in their ability to access finance between 20 April and 3 May 2020.
  • A decrease in access to finance was indicated by 5.9% of SMEs and 6.2% of large companies who responded to the survey. See Figure 11 and Table 9.

Almost half of responding enterprises expressed confidence in having financial resources to continue operating for longer than six months

  • Almost half (49.0%) of responding enterprises expressed confidence in having the financial resources to continue operating for longer than six months. This was 65.1% for Large enterprises and 45.6% for SMEs. 
  • About 80% of enterprises were confident that they have the financial resources to continue operating for at least another month.
  • However, about 8.5% see their business continuing financially for less than a month. Just 5.5% stated that they were confident that they have the financial resources to continue operating for less than one month, while 3.0% of respondents were not confident they have the financial resources to continue operating. See Figure 12 and Table 10.
For long labels below use
to display on multiple lines		Continue to operate
Up to 1 month5.5
Up to
3 months		16.8
Up to
6 months		13.9
Longer than
6 months		49
Not confident3
Don't know11.8
For long labels below use
to display on multiple lines		Not availed of Government supportAvailed of Government support
SMEs (<250)46.853.2
Large (250+)56.643.4
Total48.651.4

Over half of enterprises availed of Government supports schemes

  • Just over half (51.4%) of responding enterprises have availed of Government support during the COVID-19 crisis. This was slightly higher for SMEs (53.2%) compared to Large enterprises (43.4%).
  • Of those responding enterprises who availed of Government support, almost half (49.5%) had availed of the Revenue Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme. See Figure 13 and Table 11.
Table 1 Estimated impact on turnover, 20 April to 17 May 2020
 % of responding enterprises
Estimated impact on turnover20 Apr-3 May4 May-17 May
75-100% less than normal32.930.5
50-74% less than normal11.214.3
25-49% less than normal14.514.7
10-24% less than normal11.813.7
At or close to normal expectation20.720.3
Higher than normal8.96.6
Total100.0100.0
Open in Excel: Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey wave2 Table 1 (XLS 10KB)
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Table 2 COVID-19 impact on international trade, 20 April to 3 May 2020
 % of responding enterprises
Impact on international tradeExportsImports
Decrease53.850.0
Increase1.82.2
Not affected37.742.1
Don't know6.65.7
Total100.0100.0
Open in Excel: Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey wave2 Table 2 (XLS 9KB)
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Table 3 COVID-19 impact on prices, 20 April to 3 May 2020
  % of responding enterprises
Impact on pricesPurchases of materials, goods or servicesSales of materials, goods or services
Prices have decreased more than normal2.55.5
Prices have increased more than normal9.23.0
Prices have not changed more than normal58.675.5
Some prices have increased; some prices have decreased16.78.1
Don't know13.07.9
Total100.0100.0
Open in Excel: Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey wave2 Table 3 (XLS 10KB)
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Table 4 Workforce changes due to COVID-19 up to 3 May 2020
 % of responding enterprises
Decreased working hours36.7
Increased working hours5.2
Staff placed on paid leave17.8
Staff let go temporarily33.1
Staff let go permanently5.9
Staff hired temporarily4.0
Staff hired permanently0.8
Paused or cancelled planned recruitment23.0
Other12.7
No changes to the workforce21.2
Open in Excel: Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey wave2 Table 4 (XLS 10KB)
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Table 5 Workplace changes due to COVID-19 up to 3 May 2020
 % of responding enterprises
Implemented remote working69.2
Implemented working arrangements to facilitate social distancing53.2
Reduced business operating hours24.6
Other35.4
No changes implemented4.1
Open in Excel: Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey wave2 Table 5 (XLS 9KB)
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Table 6 Working locations of majority of staff by size class, 20 April to 3 May 2020
 % of responding enterprises
Majority of staff workingSMEsLargeTotal
 (<250)(250+) 
Remotely28.838.030.5
Normal working location21.731.023.4
Other (deployed elsewhere, on leave etc.)18.817.118.5
Open in Excel: Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey wave2 Table 6 (XLS 10KB)
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Table 7 COVID-19 impact on enterprises by level of impact, 20 April to 3 May 2020
  % of responding enterprises
Impact on enterprisesNo impactLow impactModerate impactHigh impactDon't know
Reduced domestic demand19.811.117.946.74.5
Restrictions on business operations13.721.021.740.43.3
Lower productivity23.319.818.633.74.5
Cashflow difficulties27.115.626.127.43.7
Logistics issues25.026.122.918.37.6
Reduced international demand44.010.010.719.216.0
Supply chain interruptions27.124.424.616.07.9
Liquidity issues41.115.419.715.18.6
Open in Excel: Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey wave2 Table 7 (XLS 10KB)
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Table 8 Innovations adopted due to COVID-19 up to 3 May 2020
 % of responding enterprises
Adopted new methods of providing products and services31.1
Adopted new methods of communication52.0
Introduced new products8.5
Repurposed production to supply products needed during COVID-19 crisis (e.g. PPE, hand sanitiser or other in-demand products etc.)10.4
Other7.9
Open in Excel: Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey wave2 Table 8 (XLS 10KB)
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Table 9 Change in access to finance by size class, 20 April to 3 May 2020
 % of responding enterprises
Access to financeSMEsLargeTotal
 (<250)(250+) 
Decreased5.96.25.9
Increased4.53.14.3
No change67.272.168.1
Don't know22.418.621.7
Total100.0100.0100.0
Open in Excel: Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey wave2 Table 9 (XLS 10KB)
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Table 10 Confidence in financial resources to continue operating throughout the COVID-19 crisis, 20 April to 3 May 2020
 % of responding enterprises
Up to 1 month5.5
Up to 3 months16.8
Up to 6 months13.9
Longer than 6 months49.0
Not confident3.0
Don't know11.8
Total100.0
Open in Excel: Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey wave2 Table 10 (XLS 10KB)
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Table 11 Availing of Government supports by size class, 20 April to 3 May 2020
 % of responding enterprises
 SMEsLargeTotal
 (<250)(250+) 
Availed of Government support*53.243.451.4
of which:   
     Revenue Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme51.042.649.5
     COVID-19 Working Capital Loan Scheme (SBCI)3.30.02.7
     Other4.83.14.5
Not availed of Government support46.856.648.6 
Total100.0100.0100.0
* Note that some enterprises have availed of more than one type if government support.
Open in Excel: Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey wave2 Table 11 (XLS 10KB)
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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 3,000 enterprises. The first wave of the survey was collected in the week commencing 20 April 2020, with the second wave collected in the week commencing 4 May 2020. Updated waves of the survey will be collected regularly going forward, with the next wave to be issued on 2 June 2020.

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 were 736 responding enterprises to BICS Wave Two, meaning a response rate of 24.5%. 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 essentially 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
Distribution  G
Services  H-N, R-S


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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E-Mail:
information@cso.ie

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