Survey Finds Small Increase in Local Job Stability Amid Continued Economic Uncertainty

Results from a second round of a surveys on the impact of COVID-19 in Nebraska’s business and nonprofit communities have been released.

The survey project is part of an ongoing partnership between several University of Nebraska units, including the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC), the Center for Public Affairs Research (CPAR) and the Bureau of Business Research. Community partners are also part of the effort, including the Greater Omaha Chamber, the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, and the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.

The results of round two of the survey suggest marginal improvements in business conditions compared to the results in round one, conducted in April of 2020. In round two, close to 60% of responding organizations said they were not reducing the number of employees or employee hours, compared to only 42% in round one. However, considerable percentages of the responding organizations continue to report declines in revenue, employment, and the overall business climate, including decreasing consumer confidence and ability to draw back customers.

New to the survey in round two were questions about federal business support programs like the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL). Just over half of the organizations responding to the survey applied for PPP and 23% applied to EIDL. Of those that applied for any federal program as a result of COVID-19, 73% of respondents report receiving the support.

Access to both reports is available at cpar.unomaha.edu/policy along with the Nebraska Economic Recovery Dashboard (NERD), a UNO CPAR effort to provide updated information on Nebraska’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Round two of the survey was sent to over 2,000 respondents of the round one survey on June 16, 2020 and closed on June 28, 2020. Just over 900 responses were received. The distribution of responses by industry, geography and other demographics factors mimic the distribution received in round one.