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International comparison:
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

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

Trading status of responding enterprises on 23 August 2020
% of responding enterprises
Trading at normal capacity63.3
Trading at partial capacity33.0
Ceased trading temporarily2.5
Ceased trading permanently1.2
Total100.0

Over 63% of enterprises trading at normal capacity on 23 August

Fig 1: Trading status of responding enterprises on 23 August 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 sixth wave of the survey was collected in the week commencing 24 August 2020.

A total of 3,000 enterprises were surveyed online for the sixth wave of the BICS, with 25.5% of sampled enterprises completing the survey. The survey reports that of responding enterprises:

  • The majority of responding enterprises (96.3%) were trading in some capacity on 24 August 2020.
  • Almost two-thirds (63.3%) of enterprises were trading at normal capacity compared to 33.0% trading at partial capacity.
  • Over three quarters (75.2%) of enterprises in the Wholesale and Retail sector and 50.8% of enterprises in Construction were trading at normal capacity.
  • More than six in ten (61.7%) micro enterprises (less than 10 persons engaged) were trading at normal capacity.
  • Respondents to the survey indicated that 2.5% of enterprises had ceased trading temporarily while 1.2% had ceased trading permanently. See Figure 1 and Headline Table.

For further information, see Infographic

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.

A quarter of partially trading enterprises trading at more than 75% of normal capacity 

  • A quarter (24.9%) of partially trading enterprises reported a trading capacity of 75% or more compared to normal levels.
  • Almost two in five (38.3%) enterprises were trading at between 50% to 75% of normal capacity.
  • Of the enterprises that reported trading at partial capacity, 34.4% were trading at less than 50% of normal capacity. See Figure 2 and Table 1.
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Trading
capacity
Up to 25%
capacity
15
25% to 50%
capacity
19.4
50% to 75%
capacity
38.3
Over 75%
capacity
24.9
Don't know2.4
X-axis label27 Jul-23 Aug24 Aug-20 Sep
75 to 100% less than normal10.18.1
50 to 74% less than normal7.88.6
25 to 49% less than normal13.712.9
10 to 24% less than normal18.919.8
At or close to normal expectation4045.2
Higher than normal9.65.4

More than half of respondents had lower than normal turnover

  • Over half (50.5%) of responding enterprises had lower than normal turnover for the four-week period 27 July to 23 August 2020.
  • Four in ten (40.0%) enterprises reported turnover at or close to normal expectations, while 9.6% had higher than normal turnover.
  • A third of enterprises (33.3%) in the Construction sector reported close to or normal turnover compared to 44.1% of Industrial enterprises for the four weeks 27 July to 23 August 2020.
  • Over the same period, a higher proportion of large enterprises (44.8%) had close to or normal turnover compared to 38.8% of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
  • When estimating impact on turnover for the following four weeks (24 August to 20 September), 45.2% of responding enterprises expected to have close to or normal turnover and 5.4% expected to have higher than normal turnover.
  • Almost half (49.4%) of respondents estimated having lower than normal turnover for the same period. See Figure 3 and Table 2.
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Turnover exceeded
operating costs
Turnover about equal
to operating costs
Operating costs
exceeded turnover
Don't know
Micro (<10)48.724.87.718.8
Small (10-49)55.825.39.69.3
Medium (50-249)61.213.714.210.9
Large (250+)57.613.918.89.7
Total56.420.112.211.3

Turnover exceeded operating costs for more than half of responding enterprises

  • More than half (56.4%) of enterprises reported that turnover had exceeded operating costs during the four weeks from 27 July to 23 August 2020.
  • Turnover exceeded operating costs in 61.2% of medium sized enterprises (50 - 249 persons engaged) compared to 48.7% of micro enterprises (less than 10 persons engaged).
  • One in five (20.1%) of enterprises reported turnover being similar to operating costs while 12.2% indicated that operating costs had exceeded turnover during the four weeks 27 July to 23 August 2020.  
  • Large enterprises (250 or more persons engaged) at 18.8% outnumbered any other size class in relation to operating costs exceeding turnover. See Figure 4 and Table 3.
X-axis labelImportsExports
Decreased21.830.3
Increased3.72.4
Not affected66.359.3
Don't know8.37.9

Exports decreased for 30.3% of responding exporters

  • During the four-week period 27 July to 23 August, 59.3% of exporting respondents reported that exports were not affected by the COVID-19 crisis compared to 30.3% which reported a decrease.
  • For the same four-week period, two-thirds (66.3%) of importing enterprises indicated that imports were not affected by the COVID-19 crisis while 21.8% reported a decrease. See Figure 5 and Table 4.

Almost half of respondents expecting to be negatively impacted by Brexit believe that COVID-19 will worsen the impact

  • Of the 43.9% of responding enterprises expecting Brexit to have a negative impact on business:
    • Almost half (47.6%) expect COVID-19 to worsen the impact of Brexit
    • 21.5% indicated that COVID-19 could lessen the negative impact of Brexit
    • Three in ten (30.9%) believe that COVID-19 will not affect the impact of Brexit
  • Of the remaining enterprises responding to the survey, 18.0% reported that Brexit will have no impact on their business, 1.1% expect Brexit to have a positive impact on their business, while 37.0% of respondents don't know. See Figures 6a & 6b and Tables 5a & 5b.
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Brexit impact
Positive
impact
1.1
Negative
impact
43.9
No impact18
Don't know37
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Brexit
Stronger
negative
impact
47.6
Neither
stronger
or weaker
negative
impact
30.9
Weaker
negative
impact
21.5
X-axis labelStaff working
at their normal
place of work
Staff
working
remotely
Not
currently
working
Other
(deployed
elsewhere etc.)
Office based enterprises34.557.76.31.5
Non-office based enterprises76.112.96.34.7
Total65.224.66.33.9

Non-office based enterprises had an average of 76.1% of staff working at their normal place of work

  • Non-office based enterprises had an average of 76.1% of staff working at their normal working location compared to an average of 34.5% of staff at office based enterprises.
  • Office based enterprises had an average of 57.7% of staff working remotely in the week ending 23 August 2020 compared to an average of 12.9% of staff working for non-office based enterprises.
  • Small enterprises (10-49 persons engaged) had the highest average of staff working at their normal working location at 75.3% while large enterprises had the lowest average at 52.7%.
  • Large enterprises had the highest average of staff working remotely at 38.0% while micro enterprises had the lowest average at 15.4%. 
  • In the week ending 23 August 2020 the overall average of staff not working in responding enterprises was 6.3%. See Figure 7 and Table 6.

Note: Office based enterprises in this release refer to enterprises in NACE sectors J-N. For further information see Background Notes. Business Impact of COVID-19

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Returned from temporary leave Returned from remote working
Office based enterprises5.18.4
Non-office based enterprises21.16.5
Total16.97

An average of 7.0% of staff returned from remote working from 27 July to 23 August 2020

  • Responding enterprises had an average of 7.0% of staff return from remote working to their normal place of work in the four-week period 27 July to 23 August 2020. An average of 8.4% of staff in office based enterprises and 6.5% of staff in non-office based enterprises returned from remote working.
  • Micro enterprises had an average of 8.0% of staff returning from remote working compared to an average of 5.2% for large enterprises.
  • Responding enterprises had an average of 16.9% of staff return from temporary leave in the four-week period 27 July to 23 August 2020.
  • Non-office based enterprises had an average of 21.1% of staff return from temporary leave compared to an average of 5.1% for office based enterprises.
  • Micro enterprises had an average of 22.3% of their workforce returning from temporary leave, while large enterprises had an average of 8.7%. See Figure 8 and Table 6.
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YesNoDon't knowNot applicable
Office based40.116.240.63.1
Non-office based17.237.825.619.4
Total23.232.229.515.1

Almost a quarter of enterprises plan to make remote working, in some capacity, a permanent fixture

  • Nearly a quarter (23.2%) of respondents plan to make remote working, in some capacity, a permanent part of operations.
  • More office based enterprises (40.1%) plan to make remote working, in some capacity, a permanent fixture compared to 17.2% of non-office based enterprises.
  • Almost a third (32.2%) of enterprises have no plans to make remote working a permanent fixture while 29.5% don't know. See Figure 9 and Table 7.
X-axis labelWorkplace measures
Staff remote working55.6
Rearranging workspace to facilitate social distancing79.9
Staggering shifts to facilitate social distancing37.4
Occupancy limits in the workplace42.4
Mandatory PPE (face covering, gloves, etc.) in the workplace63.4
Maintaining log of personal interactions to facilitate contact tracing50.1
Temperature screening37.2
Increased hygiene measures81.6
Protective screening for staff49.5
Other4.6
No measures1.6

More than four in five enterprises have increased hygiene measures in the workplace

  • Four in five (81.6%) responding enterprises have increased hygiene measures in the workplace.
  • More than six in ten (63.4%) enterprises have provided mandatory PPE, such as gloves and facemasks in the workplace.
  • Protective screening, such as perspex screens were provided by 49.5% of enterprises for staff in the workplace while 42.4% have occupancy limits in place.
  • Four in five (79.9%) enterprises have rearranged workspace to facilitate social distancing while 55.6% had staff working remotely.
  • Half of responding enterprises (50.1%) were maintaining a log of personal interactions to facilitate contact tracing. See Figure 10 and Table 8.
X-axis label% of business expenditure
Micro (<10)6.1
Small (10-49)4.3
Medium (50-249)3.9
Large (250+)3.9
Total4.4

An average of 4.4% of expenditure spent on measures to comply with COVID-19 requirements for trading

  • Responding enterprises spent an average of 4.4% of expenditure on measures to comply with COVID-19 requirements for trading during the four weeks 27 July to 23 August 2020.
  • Micro enterprises spent 6.1% of expenditure during this period on measures to comply with COVID-19 restrictions, the highest among all size classes. See Figure 11 and Table 9.

More than a quarter of enterprises had higher than projected non-personnel costs

  • More than a quarter (27.6%) of enterprises had higher than projected non-personnel costs up to 23 August compared to original projections prior to the COVID-19 crisis. A quarter (25.2%) of enterprises had lower than projected non-personnel costs while 32.2% reported no change compared to original projections.
  • Four in ten (40.5%) responding enterprises reported no change in personnel costs compared to original projections, 28.7% had lower than projected personnel costs while 18.8% reported higher than projected personnel costs. See Figures 12a &12b and Table 10.
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Personnel costs
50-100%
lower
5.4
20-50%
lower
7.2
Up to 20%
lower
16.1
No change40.5
Up to 20%
higher
16.7
Over 20%
higher
2.1
Don't know12
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Non-personnel costs
50-100%
lower
3.9
20-50%
lower
4.9
Up to 20%
lower
16.4
No change32.2
Up to 20%
higher
26.4
Over 20%
higher
1.2
Don't know14.9
X-axis labelMeasures taken
Deferred or changed loan repayments11.5
Deferred or changed property payments
(including rent, utilities and local authority rates)
17
Deferred or changed revenue payments18.4
Deferred or changed payments to suppliers13
Increased overdraft facilities5.6
Other3.3
No measures taken62.6

Over six in ten enterprises took no measures to manage cashflow because of COVID-19

  • More than six in ten enterprises (62.6%) took no measures to manage cashflow because of COVID-19 during the four weeks from 27 July to 23 August 2020.
  • During the same four-week period, 18.4% of responding enterprises deferred or changed revenue payments to manage cashflow. See Figure 13 and Table 11.
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Business concerns
Reduced demand due to lower consumer confidence36.7
Reduced workforce productivity10.5
Increased costs of business16.4
Maintaining cashflow19.9
An increase of COVID-19 cases leading to another lockdown48.6
Reduced availability of Government supports7.9
Future staff layoffs8.6
Staff well-being29.4
Other2.6
No immediate concerns5.8

Almost half of enterprises concerned about an increase in COVID-19 cases leading to another lockdown

  • An increase in COVID-19 cases leading to another lockdown was among the top two concerns for 48.6% of enterprises responding to the survey.
  • Over a third (36.7%) of enterprises were concerned about reduced demand due to lower consumer confidence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Nearly three in ten (29.4%) enterprises reported staff well-being among their top two concerns.
  • One in five (19.9%) respondents reported that maintaining cashflow was among their top two concerns.
  • The reduced availability of Government supports was one of the top two concerns for 7.9% of enterprises.
  • Almost one in ten (8.6%) enterprises were concerned about future staff layoffs while 5.8% had no immediate concerns. See Figure 14 and Table 12.

Six in ten enterprises expressed confidence in having the financial resources to continue operating for longer than six months

  • Six in ten (60.4%) responding enterprises expressed confidence in having the financial resources to continue operating for longer than six months.
  • Almost nine in ten (88.5%) enterprises were confident in having the financial resources to continue operating for more than another month.
  • However, 5.0% see their business continuing financially for less than a month. Of responding enterprises, 3.4% expressed confidence in having the financial resources to continue operating for less than one month, while 1.6% of respondents were not confident in having the financial resources to continue operating. See Figure 15 and Table 13.
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Continue to operate
Up to 1 month3.4
Up to
3 months
11.9
Up to
6 months
16.2
Longer than
6 months
60.4
Not confident1.6
Don't know6.5

Less than half of responding enterprises availed of Government supports from 27 July to 23 August 2020 

  • Less than half (45.7%) of responding enterprises have availed of Government supports in the four-week period 27 July to 23 August 2020. A larger proportion of SMEs (48.7%) availed of Government supports compared to 33.3% for large enterprises.
  • The Revenue Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme was availed of by 39.9% of responding enterprises, while 13.6% availed of the COVID-19 Restart Grant from their Local Authority. See Figure 16 and Table 14.
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Government
support
Yes45.7
No54.3
Table 1 Enterprises trading at partial capacity due to COVID-19
  % of responding enterprises
Up to 25% capacity15.0
Between 25% and 50% capacity19.4
Between 50% and 75% capacity38.3
More than 75% capacity24.9
Don’t know2.4
Total100.0
Table 2 Estimated impact on turnover in the previous (27 Jul - 23 Aug) and forthcoming (24 Aug - 20 Sep) four week periods
 % of responding enterprises
Estimated impact on turnover27 Jul-23 Aug24 Aug-20 Sep
75-100% less than normal10.18.1
50-74% less than normal7.88.6
25-49% less than normal13.712.9
10-24% less than normal18.919.8
At or close to normal expectation40.045.2
Higher than normal9.65.4
Total100.0100.0
Table 3 Turnover versus operating costs in the four weeks from 27 Jul to 23 Aug 2020
 % of responding enterprises
Turnover versus costsMicroSmallMediumLargeTotal
 (<10)(10-49)(50-249)(250+) 
Turnover exceeded operating costs48.755.861.257.656.4
Turnover about equal to operating costs24.825.313.713.920.1
Operating costs exceeded turnover7.79.614.218.812.2
Don't know18.89.310.99.711.3
Total100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0
Table 4 COVID-19 impact on international trade, 27 Jul to 23 Aug 2020
 % of responding enterprises
Impact on international tradeExportsImports
Decreased30.321.8
Increased2.43.7
Not affected59.366.3
Don't know7.98.3
Total100.0100.0
Table 5a Expected impact of Brexit on business
Impact % of responding enterprises
Positive impact1.1
Negative impact43.9
No impact18.0
Don't know37.0
Total100.0
Table 5b Changes to the expected negative impact of Brexit due to COVID-19
Negative impact % of responding enterprises
Stronger47.6
Weaker21.5
Neither stronger or weaker30.9
Total100.0
Table 6 Average percentage of workforce by location in the week ending 23 Aug 2020
 % of responding enterprises
LocationOffice basedNon-office basedTotal
Staff working at their normal place of work34.576.165.2
of which:   
            Returned from temporary leave (27 Jul - 23 Aug)5.121.116.9
            Returned from remote working (27 Jul - 23 Aug)8.46.57.0
Staff working remotely57.712.924.6
Not currently working6.36.36.3
Other (deployed elsewhere etc.)1.54.73.9
Table 7 Plans to make remote working permanent in some capacity
 % of responding enterprises
Permanent remote workingOffice basedNon-office basedTotal
Yes40.117.223.2
No16.237.832.2
Don't know40.625.629.5
Not applicable3.119.415.1
Total100.0100.0100.0
Table 8 Workplace measures implemented due to COVID-19 up to 23 Aug 2020
 % of responding enterprises
Staff remote working55.6
Rearranging workspace to facilitate social distancing79.9
Staggering shifts to facilitate social distancing37.4
Occupancy limits in the workplace42.4
Mandatory PPE (face covering, gloves, etc.) in the workplace63.4
Maintaining log of personal interactions to facilitate contact tracing50.1
Temperature screening37.2
Increased hygiene measures81.6
Protective screening for staff49.5
Other4.6
No measures1.6
Table 9 Proportion of business expenditure spent on measures to comply with COVID-19 requirements for trading from 27 Jul to 23 Aug 2020
Size class% of business expenditure
Micro (<10)6.1
Small (10-49)4.3
Medium (50-249)3.9
Large (250+)3.9
Total4.4
Table 10 Estimated changes in operating costs up to 23 Aug 2020
 % of responding enterprises
Estimated changesPersonnel costsNon-personnel costs
50-100% lower5.43.9
Between 20-50% lower7.24.9
Up to 20% lower16.116.4
No change40.532.2
Up to 20% higher16.726.4
More than 20% higher2.11.2
Don't know12.014.9
Total100.0100.0
Table 11 Measures taken to manage cashflow as a result of the COVID-19 crisis in the four weeks 27 Jul to 23 Aug 2020
 % of responding enterprises
Deferred or changed loan repayments11.5
Deferred or changed property payments (including rent, utilities and local authority rates)17.0
Deferred or changed revenue payments18.4
Deferred or changed payments to suppliers13.0
Increased overdraft facilities5.6
Other3.3
No measures taken62.6
Table 12 Business concerns while currently operating during the COVID-19 pandemic
 % of responding enterprises
Reduced demand due to lower consumer confidence36.7
Reduced workforce productivity10.5
Increased costs of business16.4
Maintaining cashflow19.9
An increase of COVID-19 cases leading to another lockdown48.6
Reduced availability of Government supports7.9
Future staff layoffs8.6
Staff well-being29.4
Other2.6
No immediate concerns5.8
Table 13 Confidence in financial resources to continue operating throughout the COVID-19 crisis, 27 Jul to 23 Aug 2020
 % of responding enterprises
Up to 1 month3.4
Up to 3 months11.9
Up to 6 months16.2
Longer than 6 months60.4
Not confident1.6
Don't know6.5
Total100.0
Table 14 Availing of Government supports, 27 Jul to 23 Aug 2020
 % of responding enterprises
Availed of Government support*45.7
of which: 
     Revenue Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme39.9
     COVID-19 Working Capital Loan Scheme (SBCI)1.6
     COVID-19 Business Financial Planning Grant (Enterprise Ireland)2.1
     Restart Grant (Local Authority)13.6
     Other4.0
Not availed of Government support54.3
Total100.0
* Note that some enterprises have availed of more than one type of government support.

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 approximately 3,000 enterprises. The first wave of the survey was collected in the week commencing 20 April 2020 while the most recent sixth wave of the survey was collected 24 August 2020.

Wave Period Covered Response Rate
1 16 March to 19 April 2020  26.0%
2 20 April to 3 May 2020 24.5%
3 4 May to 31 May 2020 27.9%
4 1 June to 28 June 2020 27.1%
5 29 June to 26 July 2020 24.9%
6 27 July to 23 August 2020 25.5%


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 was a response rate of 25.5% to the sixth wave of the survey. 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 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
Wholesale and Retail  G
Services  H-N, R-S
Office-based J-N
Non-office-based B-I, R-S

Note: Some of the data presenting in the release separate Accommodation and Food Services (NACE I) from Services.

 

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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