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Economic News Release
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U.S. Business Response to the COVID-19 Table

Business response to the coronavirus pandemic 2021 - Total U.S., private sector for all results
Result Reference Percent of establishments Number of establishments Percent of employment in establishments Employment in establishments

Establishments that increased telework for some or all employees

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 34.5 2,975,380 50.8 59,877,706

Establishments with increased telework that expect the increase to continue when the coronavirus pandemic is over

 When the coronavirus pandemic is over 60.2 1,942,880 56.2 38,203,485

Establishments with all of their employees teleworking all of the time

 At the time of data collection (July-Sept 2021) 10.3 883,713 3.0 3,499,020

Establishments with some of their employees teleworking

 At the time of data collection (July-Sept 2021) 29.8 2,567,890 47.4 55,914,722

Establishments with all of their employees teleworking rarely or never

 At the time of data collection (July-Sept 2021) 60.1 5,175,578 49.8 58,713,028

Establishments that started flexible or staggered work hours

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 24.6 2,118,194 33.9 39,964,827

Establishments that started compressed or alternative work schedules

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 12.2 1,054,815 18.2 21,451,103

Establishments that started voluntary reductions in hours worked (change to part-time or reduced hours)

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 11.0 944,423 14.4 16,983,489

Establishments that started job-sharing (two employees split hours/tasks of a full-time job)

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 2.3 198,168 2.7 3,209,639

Establishments that started paid leave for dependent care (additional paid leave of any kind for employees with dependent care responsibilities due to the coronavirus pandemic)

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 6.5 562,609 14.4 16,975,348

Establishments that started at least one of the employee flexibilities specified in results 4.1-4.5

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 34.5 2,973,307 47.2 55,704,908

Establishments that increased base wages (straight-time wages or salary)

 Because of the coronavirus pandemic 14.5 1,246,153 20.5 24,175,563

Establishments that temporarily paid a wage premium/extra hourly amount for working during the pandemic (hazard pay, hero pay, or hourly bonus)

 Because of the coronavirus pandemic 5.5 470,543 15.7 18,544,496

Establishments that paid one-time special monetary awards/appreciation bonuses for working during the pandemic

 Because of the coronavirus pandemic 9.4 808,930 23.7 27,942,615

Establishments that paid one-time bonuses to newly hired workers (signing bonuses for new employees)

Because of the coronavirus pandemic 2.4 206,727 9.5 11,149,571

Establishments that paid workers who referred others to apply for jobs (recruitment bonuses to current employees)

 Because of the coronavirus pandemic 4.5 385,525 16.6 19,633,047

Establishments that made at least one of the changes in pay specified in results 5.1-5.5

 Because of the coronavirus pandemic 24.2 2,081,990 45.8 54,016,218

Establishments that required some or all employees to routinely wear a face covering or any protective gear while they were on-site

 At the time of data collection (July-Sept 2021) 58.3 5,025,102 74.0 87,338,551

Establishments that required employees working on-site to have a temperature screening prior to entering their place of work

 At the time of data collection (July-Sept 2021) 24.1 2,073,839 36.0 42,427,240

Establishments that required some or all employees to get a COVID-19 vaccination before coming to work on-site

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 17.5 1,508,911 14.5 17,067,801

Establishments that offered any employees a financial incentive, paid time off, or permitted employees to remain on the clock to get a COVID-19 vaccination

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 28.0 2,408,582 44.9 52,961,500

Establishments offering a vaccine incentive that required some or all employees to get a COVID-19 vaccination before coming to work on-site

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 28.4 745,090 20.0 11,834,475

Establishments NOT offering a vaccine incentive that required some or all employees to get a COVID-19 vaccination before coming to work on-site

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 13.6 823,412 10.3 7,239,137

Establishments requiring some or all employees to get a COVID-19 vaccination that offered employees a financial incentive, paid time off, or permitted employees to remain on the clock to get a COVID-19 vaccination

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 45.9 817,531 58.0 19,256,536

Establishments NOT requiring employees to get a COVID-19 vaccination that offered employees a financial incentive, paid time off, or permitted employees to remain on the clock to get a COVID-19 vaccination

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 24.3 1,719,312 42.4 43,752,495

Establishments that decreased their square footage of space

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 5.5 472,845 4.2 4,924,984

Establishments that increased their square footage of space

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 3.6 306,213 5.1 6,013,495

Establishments that have about the same square footage of space

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 91.0 7,836,981 90.7 107,023,286

Establishments that expect to decrease their square footage of space in the next 12 months

 In the next 12 months 4.0 344,873 3.3 3,917,156

Establishments that expect to increase their square footage of space in the next 12 months

 In the next 12 months 3.6 307,447 5.6 6,559,086

Establishments that expect to have about the same square footage of space in the next 12 months

 In the next 12 months 92.4 7,963,719 91.1 107,485,523

Establishments that relocated within the same city or county

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 3.9 334,350 2.4 2,833,729

Establishments that relocated to a different city or county, but within the same state

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 1.3 116,056 0.7 875,463

Establishments that relocated to a different state

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 0.6 52,018 0.2 240,836

Establishments that did not relocate since the start of the pandemic

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 94.2 8,113,614 96.7 114,011,737

Establishments that expect to relocate within the same city or county in the next 12 months

 In the next 12 months 2.7 229,549 2.3 2,690,578

Establishments that expect to relocate to a different city or county, but within the same state in the next 12 months

 In the next 12 months 0.7 59,916 0.4 510,724

Establishments that expect to relocate to a different state in the next 12 months

 In the next 12 months 0.6 47,789 0.2 264,085

Establishments that do not expect to relocate within the next 12 months

 In the next 12 months 96.1 8,278,785 97.1 114,496,378

Establishments that started or increased their use of independent contractors, freelancers, or consultants

 At any time during the coronavirus pandemic 5.9 508,619 5.8 6,897,111

Establishments that started or increased their use of temporary help agency workers

 At any time during the coronavirus pandemic 3.0 261,306 11.5 13,617,962

Establishments that started or increased their use of companies that provide contractors or subcontractors

 At any time during the coronavirus pandemic 1.4 122,686 4.4 5,176,998

Establishments that started or increased their use of online platform companies that arrange assignments for workers through an app and collect a commission from establishments for each task/job workers do

 At any time during the coronavirus pandemic 0.8 66,120 0.9 1,048,998

Establishments that did not start or increase their use of any of the types of workers specified in results 14.1-14.4

 At any time during the coronavirus pandemic 91.0 7,844,398 83.7 98,786,206

Establishments that started or increased their use of at least one of the types of workers specified in results 14.1-14.4

 At any time during the coronavirus pandemic 9.0 771,641 16.3 19,175,559

Establishments that expect to use independent contractors, freelancers, or consultants when the coronavirus pandemic is over

 When the coronavirus pandemic is over 11.4 978,072 11.8 13,882,362

Establishments that expect to use temporary help agency workers when the coronavirus pandemic is over

 When the coronavirus pandemic is over 4.0 342,048 14.3 16,922,799

Establishments that expect to use companies that provide contractors or subcontractors when the coronavirus pandemic is over

 When the coronavirus pandemic is over 3.1 268,857 7.8 9,216,330

Establishments that expect to use online platform companies that arrange assignments for workers through an app and collect a commission from establishments for each task/job workers do when the coronavirus pandemic is over

 When the coronavirus pandemic is over 1.2 105,817 1.2 1,402,227

Establishments that expect to use at least one of the types of workers specified in results 15.1-15.4 when the coronavirus pandemic is over

 When the coronavirus pandemic is over 14.8 1,274,614 22.9 27,023,505

Establishments that do not expect to use any of the types of workers specified in results 15.1-15.4 when the coronavirus pandemic is over

 When the coronavirus pandemic is over 85.2 7,341,425 77.1 90,938,260

Establishments that use self-service kiosks (including kiosks to order and pay for food)

 At the time of data collection (July-Sept 2021) 2.2 188,105 8.3 9,825,544

Establishments that use voice-recognition-based customer service/automated online chats with customers

 At the time of data collection (July-Sept 2021) 0.7 61,161 1.9 2,208,174

Establishments that use automated document analysis and review

 At the time of data collection (July-Sept 2021) 1.5 129,020 3.7 4,412,745

Establishments that use industrial robots for building maintenance (including daily cleaning or disinfecting)

 At the time of data collection (July-Sept 2021) 0.1 10,164 1.0 1,178,247

Establishments that use industrial robots for assembling goods (including robots that weld, and pick-and-pace robots to assemble, select parts, or inspect products)

 At the time of data collection (July-Sept 2021) 0.3 29,827 2.2 2,586,667

Establishments that use industrial robots or management systems for packing goods for shipment

 At the time of data collection (July-Sept 2021) 0.2 19,583 1.5 1,816,545

Establishments that use automated provisions of physical medical care (such as drawing blood) and physical rehabilitation

 At the time of data collection (July-Sept 2021) 0.1 5,833 0.2 251,764

Establishments that use at least one of the types of automation specified in results 16.1-16.7

 At the time of data collection (July-Sept 2021) 4.2 365,701 13.8 16,284,473

Establishments that do not use any of the types of automation specified in results 16.1-16.7

 At the time of data collection (July-Sept 2021) 95.8 8,250,338 86.2 101,677,291

Establishments that started or increased the use of any types of automation specified in results 16.1-16.7

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 1.8 153,844 4.2 4,969,637

Establishments using at least one of the types of automation specified in results 16.1-16.7 that started or increased their use since the start of the coronavirus pandemic

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 31.2 246,226 32.3 8,664,832

Establishments that are drug testing or alcohol testing new applicants or current employees

 At the time of data collection (July-Sept 2021) 16.1 1,391,362 41.1 48,532,373

Establishments that reduced or delayed drug or alcohol testing for new applicants or current employees

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 2.0 171,505 5.6 6,596,022

Establishments drug or alcohol testing new applicants or current employees that also reduced or delayed drug or alcohol testing

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 7.9 128,246 10.0 5,922,779

Establishments that received a federal or state government coronavirus-related loan or grant tied to re-hiring or maintaining employees on the payroll AFTER January 1, 2021

 After January 1, 2021 35.8 3,080,927 29.6 34,903,109

Establishments that received any type of coronavirus-related loan since the onset of the pandemic and the loan has been converted to a grant

 Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 54.0 3,764,550 47.9 47,605,911

Note: Total U.S., private sector includes the 50 states, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico
Note: Data collection took place from July-September 2021
Table of Contents
Last Modified Date: February 09, 2022