In Fact, Nearly One-Third Are Hiring – And Many Are Forgoing Government Assistance
NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 20, 2020 – Though their revenue has decreased and the vast majority of their employees are working remotely, most Nashville area technology companies are not laying off employees because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, a significant percentage are hiring, according to a survey last week of Greater Nashville Technology Council (NTC) members.
Click the image above to view the results of the survey.
“One thing this pandemic has made clear is how important technology is in our lives today,” said tech council CEO Brian Moyer. “With so many people working remotely, video conferencing has allowed many businesses to continue functioning without missing a beat, and the internet has become a virtual lifeline for families as they shelter in place. Given the digitalization of our world, it’s not surprising that most Middle Tennessee tech companies are finding a way to survive during this difficult time – and for some, even thrive.”
The survey of tech council members, which gauged the effect the pandemic and corresponding economic shutdown are having on local technology companies, gathered responses from 195 companies (40% of the council’s for-profit member companies) that represent 111,199 full-time and 9,115 part-time employees. The survey has a margin of error of 5 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.
In terms of the overall effect of the pandemic on Nashville tech companies, the NTC survey found that only 17 percent are still operating a facility, 3 percent have voluntarily closed up shop and 1 percent have been forced to close. The overwhelming majority – 95 percent – are operating remotely.
A slim majority of respondents, 51 percent, have seen their revenue decrease. Some tech companies – 11 percent – have actually seen revenues increase during this crisis and 38 percent are as yet unsure of the effect of the pandemic on their revenue.
A large majority of companies surveyed – 86 percent – have seen no change in their employee headcount. Ten percent have seen a decrease in their workforce and 4 percent have experienced an increase.
Perhaps most surprising, 31 percent of Nashville tech companies surveyed said they are hiring now, with a total of 1,391 vacant positions identified. The vast majority of the open positions – 1,000 out of the 1,391 – are in the retail industry. The other top industries looking to hire tech talent now included finance, technology, government, IT services and healthcare.
A near-majority, 45 percent, are pursuing financial assistance from governmental bodies, such as applying for loans through the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). However, over one-third of the tech companies responding to the survey, 36 percent, have decided to forego government assistance – which is well below the national percentage of small businesses pursuing financial support from the government. According to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), 70 percent of small businesses applied for PPP loans and nearly half applied for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL).
For an interactive graphic display of survey results, created by Juice Analytics, go to: https://staging.juiceboxdata.com/ntc_member_covid_19_survey/ntc_member_covid_19_survey#cyxyP0odeTI
For More Information Please Contact:
Anthony Priwer
anthony@bradfordgroup.com
615.515.4891
About The Greater Nashville Technology Council
The Greater Nashville Technology Council is the leading voice and advocate for Middle Tennessee’s $7.5 billion information technology ecosystem and the 50,000 technology professionals who design, implement, manage, and safeguard the technology that powers our region’s economy. The council’s mission is to strengthen and advance the technology sector by bringing together companies, philanthropies, government, universities and talent to create opportunity and growth. For more information, please go to: www.technologycouncil.com