COVID-19 impacts to small businesses in the professional, scientific, and technical services sector
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American Geosciences Institute
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This data brief provides insights from the most recent results from the Geoscience COVID-19 study regarding impacts to business staffing expectations and workplace policies from February through July 2020. As of early July, over half of geoscience businesses expect to see no change in permanent staffing during the 2020 calendar year, while one-third of businesses expect a decrease in permanent staffing. Expectations for 2020 staffing levels for temporary and contract workers have been more varied, with the latest data indicating that 81% of businesses expect no change from last year’s staffing levels, one-fifth of businesses expect a decrease in temporary and contract staffing.
Workplace policies available to employees have shifted over the past six months, with over half of businesses providing their employees with the option to work permanently from home. At the end of June, a higher percentage of businesses allowed their employees to work from the office and to access field site and lab facilities than in early July. In addition, throughout June and July, half of businesses reported that they had employees either on travel or working in the field, with most employees traveling to or doing fieldwork in limited locations.
We will continue to provide current snapshots on the impacts of COVID-19 on the geoscience enterprise throughout the year.
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