Enterprise Pulse Survey: 37.9% of enterprises felt little or no effect of the pandemic in the second half of August
October 01, 2020 09h00 AM | Last Updated: October 05, 2020 05h58 PM
Of the 3.4 million enterprises operating in the country, in the second half of August, 37.9% reported that the pandemic had little or no effect on their activities. Another 33.5% reported a negative effect and 28.6%, a positive effect. All enterprises, regardless the size, reported improvement.
The impact was small or non-existent for 43.2% of enterprises in the Services sector and 40.3% of Industry. Construction enterprises were the ones that most felt negative impacts (40.0%), followed by Trade enterprises (36.0%), mainly Retail Trade (39.7%). On the other hand, the effect was positive for 47.5% of the enterprises selling vehicles, parts and motorcycles.
The results of the last round of the Enterprise Pulse Survey reflect the way enterprises perceive their operation at the end of the second half of August, compared to the first half of the same month. The survey monitors the main effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the activity of non-financial enterprises and is part of IBGE's Experimental Statistics. The tables and presentation of the survey are on the right of this page. Learn more on covid19.ibge.gov.br (in Portuguese).
| Groups | Total enterprises in operation (branches) | Total (%) | Reporting negative effects (%) | Reporting little or no effects (%) | Reporting positive effects (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 3,438,620 | 100.0 | 33.5 | 37.9 | 28.6 |
| Ranges of employed persons | |||||
| up to 49 | ,376,217 | 100.0 | 33.7 | 37.8 | 28.5 |
| 50 to 499 | 57,205 | 100.0 | 22.8 | 43.3 | 33.8 |
| 500 and over | 5,197 | 100.0 | 23.8 | 52.6 | 23.6 |
| Activity | |||||
| Industry | 360,688 | 100.0 | 31.8 | 40.3 | 27.8 |
| Construction | 196,510 | 100.0 | 40.0 | 31.6 | 28.4 |
| Trade | 1,459,047 | 100.0 | 36.0 | 32.9 | 31.0 |
| Retail Trade | 1,084,046 | 100.0 | 39.7 | 31.0 | 29.4 |
| Wholesale trade | 234,621 | 100.0 | 26.6 | 44.6 | 28.9 |
| Trade of vehicles. parts and motorcycles | 140,380 | 100.0 | 23.9 | 28.5 | 47.5 |
| Services | 1,422,375 | 100.0 | 30.5 | 43.2 | 26.3 |
| Services rendered to families | 332,844 | 100.0 | 35.8 | 34.4 | 29.8 |
| Information and communication services | 132,163 | 100.0 | 13.6 | 68.7 | 17.8 |
| Professional. adminstrative and complementary services | 525,403 | 100.0 | 35.3 | 43.0 | 21.7 |
| Transportation. support services for transportation and mailing | 177,768 | 100.0 | 21.9 | 48.8 | 29.3 |
| Other services | 254,197 | 100.0 | 28.6 | 38.1 | 33.3 |
| Major Regions | |||||
| North | 59,231 | 100.0 | 30.4 | 37.4 | 32.2 |
| Northeast | 532,526 | 100.0 | 24.7 | 30.3 | 45.0 |
| Southeast | 1,700,800 | 100.0 | 35.0 | 37.3 | 27.7 |
| South | 845,717 | 100.0 | 37.2 | 42.9 | 20.0 |
| Central-West | 300,346 | 100.0 | 31.4 | 40.7 | 27.9 |
| Source: IBGE. Diretoria de Pesquisas. Pesquisa Pulso Empresa | |||||
Little or no effects were noticed by 52.6% of large-sized enterprises, 43.3% of medium ones and 37.8% of small-sized enterprises in the second half of August. By Major Regions, the impacts were small or none for 42.9% of enterprises in the South, 40.7% in the Central-West, 37.4% in the North and 37.3% in the Southeast. In the Northeast, the effect was positive for 45.0% of the enterprises.
The perceived effects of the pandemic on sales of products or services were small or non-existent for 34.7% of enterprises, while for 32.9% there was a decrease in sales. For 32.2% of enterprises, sales increased with the pandemic. The increase in sales was reported by 40.3% of medium-sized enterprises. The impact on sales was small or non-existent for 47.5% of large enterprises and 34.6% of small enterprises.
Among the sectors, the perception of reduced sales was signaled by 42.7% of Construction enterprises, while for 43.6% of enterprises in the Services sector and 38.3% of Industry enterprises, the effect of the pandemic was small or nonexistent. On the other hand, 40.7% of Trade enterprises experienced increase in sales, especially Trade in vehicles, parts and motorcycles (46.6%) and Retail Trade (43.0%).
By region, the effect of increased sales was felt by enterprises in the Northeast (58.6%), North (44.0%) and in the Central-West (40.5%). In the South (40.6%) and Southeast (36.0%), enterprises reported a drop in sales in the second half of August.
More than half of the enterprises in operation (54.4%) had no significant change in manufacturing products or in customers service, 31.4% had difficulties doing it and 13.9%, found it easy. On the other hand, 46.8% of the enterprises had difficulty accessing their suppliers. For 44.1%, there was no significant change.
About 53.0% of the operating enterprises had no difficulties in making regular payments in the second half of August, while 40.3% faced difficulties.
As for employed persons, 85% (or 2.9 million) of the enterprises in operation kept the number of employees, 8.1% indicated a reduction in the workforce and 6.3% increased the number of employees.
Among the 280 thousand enterprises that reduced the number of employees, 56.8% (or 159 thousand) reduced their staff by up to 25%. Regardless of geographic location, size or economic activity, the reduction percentages remained at up to 25% of the personnel, with the exception of Construction enterprises, where the reduction varied between 26% and 50% of the personnel.
Among the initiatives to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, the highlight was the prevention and maintenance of extra hygiene measures, adopted by 93.1% of the enterprises in operation. In addition, 25.7% maintained a routine of WFH and 20.1% brought employees' vacations forwards.
About 28.6% of the enterprises changed the delivery method of their products or services, while 12.1% launched or started to sell new products or services in the second half of August.
It is also estimated that 23.8% of enterprises postponed the payment of taxes and 11.0% got emergency credit to pay their employees' salaries.
Among the enterprises that adopted some measure to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, 21.4% felt supported by the government, especially medium- and large-sized enterprises. This same was informed by 47.9% of the enterprises that postponed the payment of taxes and by 61.6% of those that obtained credit lines for the payroll.
