Source: ABS
In terms of how businesses have reacted to the shock from COVID-19, the most common responses were making changes in the delivery of products and services (38%), such as shifting to online platforms, and renegotiating property lease agreements (38%).
Overall, during the survey week, the ABS found that 90% of firms were still operating, but of the 10% that were not, 70% of those were closed as a direct consequence of COVID-19. The chart, below, shows the percentage of firms in each industry still operating, with the area of the segments representing the share of each industry to the total business population. Once adjusted by relative size, the chart reiterates the notion that firms in the accommodation and food services industry have been most impacted by COVID-19.
Source: ABS
The other key finding in this survey was that 47% of firms were prompted into making changes to their workforce as a result of COVID-19. The chart, below, provides a breakdown of the alterations businesses have made around staffing grouped by the size of business. Overall, it shows that the most common adjustment has been to reduce hours, followed by placing staff on paid leave ahead of staff either taking unpaid leave or being stood down.
Source: ABS
Firms ranging in size from 20-199 and 200 or more employees have shown the most sensitivity to the COVID-19 impact. Firms in those brackets have tended to respond in the first instance by reducing work hours and they have been much more prevalent in placing staff on paid or upaid leave or standing employees down than their small business counterparts. The next graphic provides a granular analysis of the workforce changes that have occurred in the nation's 5 largest employing industries, which in total account for almost 50% of the jobs in the Australian economy. Once again, there has a prominent impact on firms in accommodation and food services, with 70% reducing work hours and 43% either standing employees down or placing staff on unpaid leave.
Source: ABS