OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A UW-Oshkosh statewide survey shows 32% of responding businesses believe they will be resilient following COVID-19 closures.
While 23% of responding businesses reported not being able to remain open beyond three months if current conditions persist, said Jeffrey Sachse, director of UWO’s Center for Customized Research and Services (CCRS).
“The cumulative impact of the survey results in April and May tell the story of businesses first responding to the emergency of the immediate impacts and now reassessing their new, long-term reality,” Sachse said.
UWO partnered with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, New North and eight other Regional Leadership Council organizations, to conduct surveys.
The first survey was done between April 1-10.
Respondents to the second survey, administered between May 4 and 17, represent more than 67,000 employees across the state.
Key findings of the May survey include:
- Respondents reported April losses of 9,816 employees due to layoffs and furloughs in addition to the 8,795 reported for March.
- Businesses also reported losses of $28.8 million in inventory (62% decrease from April), $78.9 million in income (7.2% decrease from April), and losses in wages and productivity totaling $26 million (56% increase from April).
- Businesses reported other financial impacts of $118.6 million (62% decrease from April).
It is important to note that all losses are considered cumulative.
“It is encouraging to see reductions in inventory and income losses, though respondents are less optimistic about their ability to recoup these losses. It will be equally critical to trace the survivability of vulnerable firms now that we have started to reopen the state’s economy,” Sachse said.
Sachse said 1,151 businesses responded to both the April and May surveys, representing a retention rate of 47.1% period over period. An additional 235 new businesses responded to the May survey.
Data is reported with an error rate of plus or minus 3% based on a respondent pool of 452,000 active Wisconsin businesses.
