| Current trading status as at 19 April 2020 | ||
| % of responding enterprises | ||
| Continuing to trade | Ceased trading temporarily or permanently | |
| Industry | 82.3 | 17.7 |
| Construction | 29.2 | 70.8 |
| Distribution | 79.4 | 20.6 |
| Services | 79.7 | 20.3 |
| Total | 76.0 | 23.9 |
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 first wave of the survey was collected in the week commencing 19 April 2020.
A total of 3,000 enterprises were surveyed online for BICS Wave One, with 26% of sampled enterprises completing the survey.
It is important to note that the results presented in the BICS 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.
Further waves of this survey are being collected fortnightly to provide updated information on the business impact of COVID-19.
| Please note that all businesses may not be in a position to respond to the Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey. Therefore, the results may only reflect the characteristics of those who responded. |
23.9% of responding enterprises have temporarily or permanently ceased trading
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Continuing to trade | Ceased trading temporarily or permanently |
|---|---|---|
| Industry | 82.3 | 17.7 |
| Construction | 29.2 | 70.8 |
| Distribution | 79.4 | 20.6 |
| Services | 79.7 | 20.3 |
| Total | 76 | 24 |
Seven of every ten responding enterprises in the Construction sector have ceased trading either temporarily or permanently
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Turnover |
|---|---|
| Significantly lower than normal | 54.2 |
| Slightly lower than normal | 16.2 |
| Within normal expectations | 1.4 |
| Slightly higher than normal | 2.7 |
| Significantly higher than normal | 3.2 |
| Not impacted | 18.2 |
| Don't know | 4.1 |
Over 54% of responding enterprises indicated that their turnover over the five-week period was significantly lower than normal due to COVID-19
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Q2 2020 | Q1 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| 75 to 100% less than normal | 20.9 | 12.4 |
| 50 to 74% less than normal | 19 | 7.4 |
| 25 to 49% less than normal | 18.9 | 15.4 |
| 10 to 24% less than normal | 15.9 | 18.8 |
| At or close to normal expectation | 18.6 | 36.2 |
| More than normal | 6.6 | 9.8 |
More than half of responding enterprises reported that their turnover was below expectations for Quarter 1 2020
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Imports | Exports |
|---|---|---|
| Decrease | 46.9 | 54.6 |
| Increase | 3.7 | 2.7 |
| Not affected | 39.3 | 35.3 |
| Don't know | 10 | 7.5 |
More than 50% of responding enterprises had a decrease in exports
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Workforce changes |
|---|---|
| Implemented remote working | 69 |
| Decreased working hours | 32 |
| Increased working hours | 4.6 |
| Staff placed on paid leave | 15.8 |
| Staff let go temporarily | 34.6 |
| Staff let go permanently | 4.8 |
| Staff hired temporarily | 5.4 |
| Staff hired permanently | 1.5 |
| Other | 16.8 |
Over two-thirds of responding enterprises indicated that they implemented remote working
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Half or more working remotely | Half or more working at normal locations |
|---|---|---|
| SME (<250) | 27.7 | 21.4 |
| Large (250+) | 35.3 | 30.9 |
| Total | 29 | 23.1 |
Almost three in every ten responding businesses had the majority of their workforce working remotely during the period 16 March to 19 April
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Don't know | High impact | Moderate impact | Low impact | No impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reduced domestic demand | 4.7 | 46.8 | 19.2 | 10.4 | 18.8 |
| Reduced international demand | 13.7 | 20.7 | 12.5 | 10.5 | 42.6 |
| Cashflow difficulties | 4 | 31.1 | 24.3 | 20.9 | 19.7 |
| Liquidity issues | 9.4 | 16.9 | 20.9 | 21.1 | 31.7 |
| Lower productivity | 5.9 | 32.6 | 20.3 | 18.7 | 22.5 |
| Logistics issues | 8.1 | 20.9 | 24.8 | 26 | 20.3 |
| Supply chain interruptions | 8.1 | 20.6 | 24 | 26.9 | 20.4 |
| Restrictions on business operations | 3.1 | 41.3 | 24 | 21.1 | 10.5 |
46.8% of responding enterprises reported that reduced domestic demand had a high impact on their business
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | SMEs (<250) | Large (250+) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decrease in access to finance | 10.9 | 7.9 | 10.4 |
| Increase in access to finance | 7.5 | 5.8 | 7.2 |
| No change in access to finance | 63.1 | 73.4 | 65 |
| Don't know | 18.5 | 12.9 | 17.5 |
No change in ability to access finance according to almost two-thirds of responding enterprises
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Don't know | Not confident | Confident |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 20.8 | 5.9 | 73.3 |
| Large (250+) | 13.8 | 2.2 | 84.1 |
| SMEs (<250) | 22.3 | 6.7 | 71 |
Nearly three-quarters of enterprises are confident they have the financial resources to continue operating during the COVID-19 crisis
Nearly half of responding enterprises availed of Government supports schemes
| Availed of Government support | |
| Yes | 48.4 |
| No | 51.6 |
| Table 1 COVID-19 impact on turnover versus normal expectations, 16 March to 19 April 2020 | |
| Impact on turnover | % of responding enterprises |
| Significantly lower than normal | 54.2 |
| Slightly lower than normal | 16.2 |
| Within normal expectations | 1.4 |
| Slightly higher than normal | 2.7 |
| Significantly higher than normal | 3.2 |
| Not Impacted | 18.2 |
| Don't know | 4.1 |
| Table 2 Estimated impact on turnover, quarters 1 and 2 2020 | ||
| % of responding enterprises | ||
| Quarter 1 | Quarter 2 | |
| 2020 | 2020 | |
| 75-100% less than normal | 12.4 | 20.9 |
| 50-74% less than normal | 7.4 | 19.0 |
| 25-49% less than normal | 15.4 | 18.9 |
| 10-24% less than normal | 18.8 | 15.9 |
| At or close to normal expectation | 36.2 | 18.6 |
| More than normal | 9.8 | 6.6 |
| Table 3 COVID-19 impact on international trade, 16 March to 19 April 2020 | ||
| % of responding enterprises | ||
| Exports | Imports | |
| Decrease | 54.6 | 46.9 |
| Increase | 2.7 | 3.7 |
| Not affected | 35.3 | 39.3 |
| Don't know | 7.5 | 10.0 |
| Table 4 Workforce changes implemented, 16 March to 19 April 2020 | |
| % of responding enterprises | |
| Implemented remote working | 69.0 |
| Decreased working hours | 32.0 |
| Increased working hours | 4.6 |
| Staff placed on paid leave | 15.8 |
| Staff let go temporarily | 34.6 |
| Staff let go permanently | 4.8 |
| Staff hired temporarily | 5.4 |
| Staff hired permanently | 1.5 |
| Other | 16.8 |
| Table 5 Workforce location by size class, 16 March to 19 April 2020 | |||
| % of responding enterprises | |||
| SMEs | Large | Total | |
| (<250) | (250+) | ||
| Less than half of workforce working remotely | 72.3 | 64.7 | 71.0 |
| Half, or more, of workforce working remotely | 27.7 | 35.3 | 29.0 |
| Less than half of workforce at normal location | 78.6 | 69.1 | 76.9 |
| Half, or more, of workforce at normal location | 21.4 | 30.9 | 23.1 |
| Table 6 COVID-19 impact on enterprises by level of impact, 16 March to 19 April 2020 | |||||
| % of responding enterprises | |||||
| No impact | Low impact | Moderate impact | High impact | Don't know | |
| Reduced domestic demand | 18.8 | 10.4 | 19.2 | 46.8 | 4.7 |
| Reduced international demand | 42.6 | 10.5 | 12.5 | 20.7 | 13.7 |
| Cashflow difficulties | 19.7 | 20.9 | 24.3 | 31.1 | 4.0 |
| Liquidity issues | 31.7 | 21.1 | 20.9 | 16.9 | 9.4 |
| Lower productivity | 22.5 | 18.7 | 20.3 | 32.6 | 5.9 |
| Logistics issues | 20.3 | 26.0 | 24.8 | 20.9 | 8.1 |
| Supply chain interruptions | 20.4 | 26.9 | 24.0 | 20.6 | 8.1 |
| Restrictions on business operations | 10.5 | 21.1 | 24.0 | 41.3 | 3.1 |
| Table 7 Change in access to finance by size class, 16 March to 19 April 2020 | |||
| % of responding enterprises | |||
| SMEs | Large | Total | |
| (<250) | (250+) | ||
| Decrease in access to finance | 10.9 | 7.9 | 10.4 |
| Increase in access to finance | 7.5 | 5.8 | 7.2 |
| No change in access to finance | 63.1 | 73.4 | 65.0 |
| Don't know | 18.5 | 12.9 | 17.5 |
| Table 8 Confidence in financial resources to continue operating throughout the COVID-19 crisis by size class, 19 April 2020 | |||
| % of responding enterprises | |||
| SMEs | Large | Total | |
| (<250) | (250+) | ||
| Confident | 71.0 | 84.1 | 73.3 |
| Not confident | 6.7 | 2.2 | 5.9 |
| Don't know | 22.3 | 13.8 | 20.8 |
| Table 9 Availing of Government supports by size class, 16 March to 19 April 2020 | |||
| % of responding enterprises | |||
| SMEs | Large | Total | |
| (<250) | (250+) | ||
| Revenue Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme | 47.1 | 46.0 | 46.9 |
| Other | 5.4 | 5.8 | 5.5 |
| Not availed of Government support | 51.5 | 51.8 | 51.6 |
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 19 April 2020 and updated waves will be collected on a fortnightly basis between April and July 2020.
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.
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.
The response rate to the first survey was 26%. 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 here.
The survey is collected via an online questionnaire. The topics covered are about how the COVID-19 crisis has affected the business and what steps it has 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: click here.
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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Show Table 1 COVID-19 impact on turnover versus normal expectations 16 March to 19 April 2020
Hide Table 1 COVID-19 impact on turnover versus normal expectations 16 March to 19 April 2020