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DRAFT <br /> <br />1 <br /> <br />Economic Impact Assessment Report <br />August 2020 <br /> <br />As part of the communitywide effort to plan for Orange County’s long term recovery from the COVID-19 <br />pandemic, the Economic Recovery Support Function Team conducted an Economic Impact Assessment <br />survey of businesses located in Orange County. <br /> <br />The survey yielded responses from over 300 businesses. This report summarizes the findings of the <br />survey in five categories: <br /> <br />1. Profile of Respondents <br />2. Modifications to Business Operations During the Pandemic <br />3. Impact on Revenue <br />4. Impact on Employment <br />5. Revenue and Employment Outlook <br />6. Use of Pandemic Related Resources <br />7. Needs Assessment for the Future <br /> <br />Key Findings <br /> <br />1. A vast majority of the respondents (87%) are located in a municipality. <br />2. The respondents largely represented small businesses. Seventy-five percent (75%) of <br />respondents reported pre-pandemic gross revenues of under $1 million. <br />3. The health of the local economy has suffered. Although some businesses report revenue gains, <br />almost sixty percent (60%) are generating less revenue than one year ago. <br />4. The businesses that are reporting revenue losses represent severe losses. More than 70% of the <br />businesses reporting losses indicate losses of over 20%. <br />5. The sector in which a business operates is related to revenue outcomes. Food service and <br />drinking establishments, arts and entertainment venues, and personal services lead the sectors <br />that have experienced the greatest revenue losses. These sectors represent 57% of the <br />businesses reporting losses of 20% or more. <br />6. The professional service sector has performed well, experiencing the lowest number of losses <br />and the highest number of gains overall. <br />7. Ownership demographics do not appear to significantly impact revenue outcomes. Woman <br />owned business represent a higher percentage of the revenue gains than they appear in the <br />survey population while businesses owned by non-woman, non-minority owners experienced a <br />higher percentage of revenue loss than they represent in the survey population. Minority <br />owned businesses reported about the same percentage of losses and gains compared to their <br />representation in the survey population. <br />8. Over 80% of businesses have modified operations in response to the pandemic. The single most <br />popular strategy is increasing online or virtual sales and services. The shift to online and virtual <br />sales and services alone, however, does not generate consistently better revenue outcomes. <br />22