East Michigan News

A survey of approximately 2,000 employers across the country conducted recently by Employco USA, a human resources outsourcing provider, concluded that as many as 85% of employers are very concerned about what the next six months will bring.

Jeff Sloan, StartUpNation founder and CEO, appeared on a recent episode of WJR's "Business Beat," aired during "The Paul W. Smith Show," to discuss the bleak outlook shared by many employers. He told Smith that 82% of respondents said their business activity was still lower now than right before the pandemic.

"And almost 78% of those surveyed anticipate it may take well into 2021 for business activity to return to a pre-pandemic level," Sloan said on the radio program. 

Audio of Employco USA President Rob Wilson was played during the show, in which he said more than half of the survey respondents anticipate needing to lay off or furlough additional employees later this year.

"Fifty-two percent or more are going to do some form of a layoff," Wilson said in the audio clip.

Approximately 6% of survey respondents told Employco they may not even be in business just six months from now, Wilson said.

Still, not all the news is bad.

"We're seeing a few spots where businesses have had to learn over the last six months how to work more efficiently with less people," Wilson told Sloan. "So in some cases, their businesses are back to normal; they're not losing as much as they were before."

The federal government's Payroll Protection Program made a huge difference for a number of the businesses surveyed, Wilson told Sloan. 

Wilson also said that many entrepreneurs have the advantage of a long-term vision and mindset, meaning they are unlikely to "cut and run" during the hard times.

Sloan took the opportunity to promote his own StartUpNation business and encourage anyone listening that, even if they currently have steady work, it's a good idea to begin exploring starting their own business so they are prepared if their primary employment ever goes away.