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22 <br /> DRAFT <br /> Economic Impact Assessment Report <br /> August 2020 <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 /> The survey yielded responses from over 300 businesses. This report summarizes the findings of the <br /> survey in five categories: <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 /> Key Findings <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 /> 1 <br />