COVID-19 Business Impact Survey Results
The BC Economic Development Association (representing over 300 local, Indigenous, and regional governments in BC), the BC Chamber of Commerce in partnership with SmallBusiness BC, and Community Futures BC, launched a survey on March 13 to understand specific impacts BC businesses are experiencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic – and hear their proposed solutions.As of March 18, almost 8,000 businesses had responded to the survey. Final results can be found here.
The data paints a dire picture of what businesses are experiencing now and what they expect to be facing in the near future:
•90% of businesses are “currently being impacted by COVID-19”
•Of those impacted, 83% are seeing a “drop in revenue, business, or deal flow”
•91% anticipate a further “decrease in revenue in the near-term”
•73% of businesses expect their revenues will drop by 50% or more (with nearly a quartersayingrevenues will drop by 100%)
•Half of the respondents say they will be “temporarily shutting down” their offices.
•64% of respondents expect to reduce their staff by over half (with a quarter saying theywill bereducing their staff by 100%)
