November 30, 2020, 11:32 a.m.
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Zurich – The pandemic is a heavy burden on many self-employed people and company owners. This is shown in a survey by the KOF Institute and the University of Lausanne. One in four respondents is expecting a significant decline in sales this year as a result of the crisis. In many cases, it is therefore necessary to fall back on private wealth, which particularly affects households with lower incomes. At the same time, satisfaction with the support from the federal government is decreasing.
The corona crisis has significant consequences for the operational, personal and psychological situation of the self-employed and company owners in Switzerland. This is the result of a survey carried out by the KOF and the Faculty of Economics at the University of Lausanne (HEC Lausanne) as part of the Enterprise for Society Center (E4S) between the end of October and the beginning of November. The approximately 800 participants were surveyed for the second time; the first survey was carried out in April.
Since the beginning of the crisis, the respondents had to close their businesses for an average of 1.1 months (officially ordered and voluntary). Companies in the hospitality industry (2.6 months), art and culture (1.7 months), education (1.5 months), health care (1.4 months) and retail (1.4 months) remained closed for a longer than average period.
Household income has fallen sharply for many
The crisis has massively reduced the respondents’ sales. Half of the survey participants stated that their sales this year will be at least 17% lower than would have been expected without the crisis. A quarter expect a drop in sales of a third or more. The greatest losses are expected in the hospitality industry (-31%), followed by education (-25%) and the health sector (-18%). However, just under 10% of those surveyed state that they should generate more sales this year than without the crisis.
In many cases, the decline in sales affects the private wealth of the self-employed. In October, 40% of all respondents said that the crisis was reducing their household income. Households with lower incomes suffer particularly badly from this situation. Almost a third of those surveyed have private assets below 50,000 francs. For this group, the decline in sales in the current year exceeds on average more than half of the private wealth of last year. For around half of these people, household income has fallen or has fallen sharply because of the crisis.
Satisfaction with the support decreases
The vast majority of the self-employed took advantage of the support measures introduced or extended by the Federal Council (short-time work, income replacement benefits, COVID loans). Overall, 86% of those surveyed have made use of at least one of these measures since the beginning of the crisis. However, the proportion decreased significantly over the summer. In September, 5% of the company owners surveyed still resorted to short-time working (April: around 20%) and 12% to income replacement benefits (April: around 25%). A total of 13% of those surveyed took out a COVID loan – most of them in March or April. A large number of those who waived a loan did so because they had no need or did not want to go into debt.
The satisfaction of the participants with the support measures of the federal government has decreased noticeably since the first survey. In October, 38% of those surveyed said that in their opinion the measures were insufficient – in April it was 30%. In the hospitality industry, this share rose from 24% to 59%.
Every third person feels signs of exhaustion
The personal situation of the respondents has not improved since April either. 22% said they suffered from depressive moods (April: 21%) and 36% said they felt signs of exhaustion (April: 28%). The proportion of respondents who stated that they fear for their economic existence remained practically constant at 32% (April: 34%). The concern is particularly high in the hospitality industry (48%), in art and cultural institutions (43%) and in retail (40%). (KOF / mc / ps)
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