Enterprise Pulse Survey: 44.8% of enterprises were negatively affected by the pandemic in the first half of July
August 18, 2020 09h00 AM | Last Updated: August 25, 2020 12h24 PM
Of the 2.8 million enterprises in operation in the first half of July, 44.8% reported that the pandemic affected their activities negatively, while for 28.2% the effect was small or nonexistent and for 27.0% it was positive.
The enterprises in the Services sector were the ones that most felt negative impacts (47.0%), with a highlight to the segment of Services rendered to families (55.5%). In Trade, 44.0% reported negative effects and in Construction, 38.0%. In the industrial sector, 42.9% of enterprises reported a negative impact, while for 33.1% the effect was small or nonexistent and for 24.1% the impact was positive.
The results of the third round of the Enterprise Pulse Survey reflect the perceptions of enterprises in operation at the end of the first half of July, compared to the second half of June. The survey tracks the main effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the activity of non-financial companies and is part of IBGE's Experimental Statistics. The tables and presentation of the survey are on right of this page. Learn more at covid19.ibge.gov.br.
| Aggregation | Total operating enterprises (branches) | Total (%) | With perceived negative effect (%) | With perceived samll or nonexistent effect (%) | With a perceived positive effect (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 2,814,071 | 100.0 | 44.8 | 28.2 | 27.0 |
| Ranges of Employed Persons | |||||
| Up to 49 employees | 2,753,757 | 100.0 | 44.9 | 28.0 | 27.0 |
| 50 to 499 | 55,161 | 100.0 | 39.1 | 37.4 | 23.4 |
| 500 and over | 5,153 | 100.0 | 39.2 | 35.6 | 25.3 |
| Activity | |||||
| Industry | 313,477 | 100.0 | 42.9 | 33.1 | 24.1 |
| Construction | 160,032 | 100.0 | 38.0 | 26.7 | 35.3 |
| Trade | 1,125,352 | 100.0 | 44.0 | 20.5 | 35.5 |
| Retail trade | 789,292 | 100.0 | 42.8 | 19.3 | 37.8 |
| Wholesale trade | 199,478 | 100.0 | 42.6 | 28.7 | 28.7 |
| Trade of vehicles, parts and pieces | 136,582 | 100.0 | 52.4 | 15.6 | 31.9 |
| Services | 1,215,210 | 100.0 | 47.0 | 34.3 | 18.7 |
| Services rendered to families | 296,449 | 100.0 | 55.5 | 22.6 | 21.9 |
| Information and communication services | 117,470 | 100.0 | 37.8 | 46.3 | 15.9 |
| Professional, administrative and complementary services | 408,007 | 100.0 | 48.3 | 35.6 | 16.2 |
| Transportation, supoort services to trasnportation and mailing activities | 166,112 | 100.0 | 40.1 | 46.4 | 13.5 |
| Other Services | 227,173 | 100.0 | 43.3 | 32.3 | 24.4 |
| Major Regions | |||||
| North | 53,945 | 100.0 | 48.1 | 19.2 | 32.4 |
| Northeast | 443,478 | 100.0 | 32.1 | 29.4 | 38.5 |
| Southeast | 1,355,898 | 100.0 | 46.3 | 27.1 | 26.6 |
| South | 685,986 | 100.0 | 47.2 | 29.9 | 22.9 |
| Central-West | 274,764 | 100.0 | 51.0 | 29.7 | 19.3 |
| Source: IBGE, Diretoria de Pesquisas, Pesquisa Pulso Empresa | |||||
The negative effects were perceived by 44.9% of small-sized enterprises, 39.1% of medium-sized ones and 39.2% of large-sized enterprises. By Major Regions, the effects remained negative for more than half (51%) of the enterprises in the Central-West, 48% in the North, 47% in the South and 46% in the Southeast. In the Northeast, the effect was positive for 38% of the enterprises.
The drop in sales or services due to the pandemic was felt by 46.8% of the enterprises. Another 26.9% of them reported the effect was small or non-existent and 26.1% reported an increase in sales with the pandemic. The drop in sales was felt by 46.9% of the small-sized enterprises, 40.7% of the imedium-sized and 31.9% of large-sized ones. In larger companies, the percentage of 37.6% that reported a small or non-existent effect stands out.
By sectors, the perceived decrease in sales was reported by 51.6% companies from Trade, 45.8% from Services, 40.8% from Industry and 31.9% from Construction. By segment, there is a higher percentage of enterprises with perceived reduction in sales in Retail Trade (54.5%), Professional, administrative and complementary services (48.1%) and Services rendered to families (47.7%).
In the first half of July, 47.4% of the enterprises in operation had no significant change in their manufacturing of products or customer's services, 41.2% had difficulties and 11.3%, found the operation easier. In addition, 51.8% did not notice any significant change having access to their suppliers , whereas 38.6% had access difficulties.
About 47.3% of the enterprises in operation had difficulties making regular payments in the first half of July, while 46.3% considered that there was no significant change.
As for employed persons, eight out of ten operating enterprises (80.7% or 2.2 million) kept the same the number of employees in the first half of July as taht of the previous half, 13.5% indicated staff reduction and 5, 3% increased the number of employees.
Among the 380 thousand enterprises that reduced the number of employees, 70.8% decreased their staff by up to 25%. Regardless of size, economic activity or geographic location, the highest percentages of reduction were up to 25% decrease of personnel.
Among the actions to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, the highlights are preventive measures and maintenance of extra hygiene-related measures, adopted by about 86.7% of the companies in operation. In addition, 38.7% kept employees working form home (remote work) and 22.4% brought workers’ vacations forward.
About 32.0% of the companies changed the delivery method of their products or services, while 18.0% launched or started selling new products and/or services in the first half of July.
As to tax payments, 37.6% of enterprises have probably postponed them and 12.8% obtained an emergency credit line for payroll.
In adopting these measures, about 34.8% of enterprises felt supported by the government, mostly large-sized companies (500 or more employees). Among those that postponed the payment of taxes, this percentage was 65, 4% and among those that obtained credit lines for payroll, 80.6%.
