Press Contact:
Rachel Kennedy
North Carolina Technology Association
919-856-0393
rachel@nctech.org
NC Tech Leaders Predict Timing of Economic Rebound
Raleigh, N.C. (April 2020) –
Over the past week, the
North Carolina Technology Association
(NC TECH) polled leaders in North Carolina’s tech sector to get their insights and predictions on business effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unsurprisingly, three quarters of respondents said that nearly all (90% or more) of their organizations’ employees are working from home.
Half of the respondents predict that working from home will become more common in the long-term aftermath of the stay-at-home orders presently in effect.
The tech sector appears to be faring better than many other parts of the economy; fully 60% of those polled report that demand for their offerings has increased or remained neutral, with 40% indicating a reduction in business.
Over 40% of tech sector leaders say that their organizations are continuing to hire, with 52% saying their organizations have frozen hiring.
Only 7% reported that their employers are exploring or implementing furloughs, layoffs, or compensation reductions.
These tech leaders are fairly optimistic on when business and social activity might start to return to pre-shutdown levels. When asked what month they predict in-person meetings and events will resume, almost half of the respondents said June and 27% indicated July. Only 2% predicted later than September.
However, predictions on when the economy would see measurable rebound were later:
Only 30% anticipate improvement showing up in June or July, with 41% predicting August or September.
More than a quarter of respondents believe better economic conditions will begin to show later than September.
Regardless of when the respondents believe a recovery will start, two- thirds predict what is known as a “U-shaped” recovery (gradually bottom out, then begin to recover), and one-third predict a “V-shaped” recovery (quick pivot to accelerated growth).
Although most tech sector leaders have felt the transition to work from home has gone fairly smoothly, when asked for comments on what has been the most difficult/challenging aspect of the past few weeks, certain themes emerged: lack of in-person interaction; bandwidth capacity at homes where multiple family members need high speed access simultaneously; unclear/inaccurate/conflicting information from federal officials; delayed or lost revenue; delays or lack of availability of technology hardware; keeping employees’ morale and productivity high; forecasting future timing/levels of sales and revenues; and navigating the work from home environment (kids, technology, distractions, long hours…).
