A phone survey of a limited sample of contacts in Norges Bank’s Regional Network was conducted in the period 21-22 April 2020. All regions were represented in the survey, and 81 enterprises were interviewed. All of the private sectors were represented.

The outbreak of Covid-19 and the containment measures have affected most of the enterprises. A majority of contacts reported that activity in 2020 Q2 would be lower than in 2020 Q1, and for some, the decline has been dramatic. The travel industry and parts of retail trade have been the hardest hit so far. Among oil service contacts, the fall in oil prices is also further weighing on activity.

Although the reopening of daycare centres is making working days easier for some employees, enterprises have otherwise noted little effect of the easing of the containment measures.

Three out of ten enterprises expect that activity levels will return to pre-virus levels in the course of autumn. Four out of ten expect normalisation in 2021 at the earliest. The remaining enterprises are either little affected or expect that the situation will return to normal before summer. The export industry, oil services, construction and segments of the service industry expect the downturn to last the longest. One fourth of the enterprises are planning for lower employment in the period to summer.