ACEC News / Industry Statistics
May 8, 2020
Sixth ACEC Member Survey Results: 36% Say Economic Normalcy Still 12-18 Months Away
While still decidedly negative, firm leaders are feeling slightly better about the condition of the U.S. economy and their firm finances and cash flows, according to the sixth ACEC member survey on the impact of COVID-19. The survey, conducted May 5-6, had 492 participants.
Here are the highlights:
- Although the vast majority of firms (82 percent) still feel the condition of the U.S. economy is worse compared to March 1, this metric has declined from 93 percent in the 3rd survey on April 1.
- Firms are less negative regarding their finances and cash flow compared to previous surveys, although firms with 25 or fewer full-time employees are more likely to say their finances (41 percent) and cash flow (44 percent) are worse today.
- Firms are less optimistic about a “return to normal” within six months compared to the previous survey on April 22 (27 percent vs. 37 percent). Conversely, more firms feel it will take 12 to 18 months for a return to normal (36 percent vs. 27 percent). Smaller firms are slightly more optimistic than larger firms. Roughly three out of ten firms with 50 or fewer employees feel business will return to normal within six months, while only one out of ten firms with more than 200 full-time employees feel the same.
- The top actions firms have taken to shore up their finances since March 1 are freezing non-essential purchases (46 percent), speeding up collections (39 percent) and freezing salary/pay increases (33 percent).
- Slightly more firms report working on new projects directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic response compared to the previous survey (12 percent vs. 8 percent)
- Nearly nine out of ten firms (88 percent) applied for the Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Among firms submitting an application, nearly all (94 percent) say it was accepted and approved. Most of the rest (4 percent) are waiting on approval. Among firms whose application was approved, 84 percent have received the funds in their bank account compared to 70 percent in the previous survey. The vast majority of firms (86 percent) received $2 million or less for their PPP loan. However, 96 percent of firms with more than 200 full-time employees received a loan for more than $2 million. Nearly all firms with 50 or fewer staff (99 percent) received a loan amount of $2 million or less. About two-thirds (64 percent) of firms plan to use all of their PPP loan, while 22 percent plan to use some of it and to return the rest. Only 2 percent plan to return all of the loan.
- Fourteen percent of firms have already re-opened at least some of their offices, while 28 percent said they never closed to begin with. Of the remaining firms, most say they will re-open when they feel it is safe to do so (38 percent).
- The number of firms that have created a plan for re-opening has more than doubled (20 percent to 42 percent) in the past two weeks.
- Nearly half of firms (49 percent) say they will restrict or prohibit domestic travel for training/events/conferences after stay-at-home orders are lifted. Another third (33 percent) say they will restrict air travel.
- About one out of seven firms (15percent) say they will restrict or prohibit international travel for training/events/conferences after stay-at-home orders are lifted. Another 11 percent say they will restrict air travel.
- The vast majority of firms plan to implement a large number of safety measures once they re-open their offices. Top among these are maintaining social distancing (95 percent) and allowing staff to work remotely to care for others (85 percent).
Click here to read the survey report.
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