COVID-19 surveys continue to track Delaware business response

A statewide COVID-19 business survey administered three times so far by Delaware Prosperity Partnership and its economic development partners is informing Delaware’s responses to the pandemic and its plan for a full recovery.

The third round of the Delaware business COVID-19 response survey was conducted from April 27 to 30 and resulted in responses from 285 Delaware businesses. New questions for this round of the survey included those regarding the status of Small Business Administration loans and the Paycheck Protection Program.

“In addition to the qualitative information DPP is gathering by hearing firsthand from businesses throughout Delaware, the quantitative survey helps inform how we can best support businesses as Delaware navigates its way to full recovery,” said Kurt Foreman, DPP president and CEO.

Top takeaways for the third survey include the following.

Some 39 percent of respondents applied for an SBA Economic Disaster Injury loan. Of those businesses, 23 percent were successful in securing a loan, 16 percent were unsuccessful and 62 percent have pending applications.

In all, 61 percent of respondents applied for the Paycheck Protection Program. Of those businesses, 48 percent were successful in securing funding, 8 percent were unsuccessful and 44 percent have pending applications.

Among respondents who secured PPP funding, the average grant was nearly $400,000, with a median grant amount of about $100,000. Collectively, this funding allowed respondents to retain about 2,400 of their employees and rehire another 331 employees.

Among respondents whose business were open, supply chains still seemed relatively intact. On average, respondents indicated they were able to ship and receive more than 78 percent of goods and services, up from about 70 percent in the second survey. Figures were largely similar when looking at results by business size.

Collectively, there have been about 1,900 separations from furloughs, layoffs and termination at responding businesses, accounting for about 17 percent of the total workforce among responding businesses, compared with 13 percent in the second survey. While industries like retail trade, accommodation and food services, and arts, entertainment and recreation continue to account for an outsized share of separations, there have been downsizings in nearly every industry.

Revenues are down for nearly all industries and business sizes, with 82 percent of respondents indicating a decline in revenue, similar to the second survey. On average, respondents indicated their business could survive for about 12 weeks – in line with the average from earlier surveys – but this includes a wide range of responses. About one-quarter of respondents could survive four weeks or less, similar to the second survey’s findings.