About 67% of businesses reported that weekly revenues had decreased as a result of COVID-19, a figure down slightly from the 69% reported in June.
In a Friday afternoon Zoom interview, PERC executive director Dennis Jansen and executive associate director Andy Rettenmaier noted that the survey was conducted in early November, during a week of electoral uncertainty and before recent news about coronavirus vaccination approvals.
Rettenmaier said the survey also asked about fall 2020 revenues, and for about 63% of business respondents, revenue was down in September and October compared to fall 2019. About 25% reported increased fall revenues and 13% reported no change in fall revenues. Local businesses in some fields have had to navigate changing regulations due to the pandemic and related shifts in consumer habits.
Another finding, according to Rettenmaier, was that locally, working from home has declined from June to November among businesses surveyed. In early November, 19% of respondents’ employees were working from home, down from 28.5% in June. Additionally, 73.7% of businesses that responded said 0% to 20% of their employees were working remotely; 10.2% of businesses said 80.1% or more of their workforce was working from home.
“People are migrating back to their place of work,” Rettenmaier said.
In November, 84% of businesses were opened to the maximum extent allowed, an increase of 4% from the June figure.
