Business News Wales editor Mark Powney talks to Max Munday, Director of the Welsh Economy Research Unit at Cardiff University about the latest report published by Economic Intelligence Wales.
The report examines data from the third and fourth rounds of the ERF which delivered £95m and supported more than 60,000 jobs.
Jointly commissioned by EIW, the Development Bank of Wales and the Welsh Government, the report published on Wednesday, April 13 is the second in a series of five stages of ongoing research into the effectiveness of the ERF.
The research also incorporates analysis of an in-depth survey of more than 1,700 businesses who received support during the first and second rounds – along with the Covid-19 Wales Business Loan Scheme and the Start-Up Grants scheme led by local authorities.
The report is available to view at EIW’s website.
Some of the report’s findings include:
- 86% of respondents felt support from Welsh Government was as important as the UK Government’s Job Retention Scheme in safeguarding employment
- 95% of businesses supported during rounds 1 and 2 of funding were still trading at the time of the survey from August to October 2021
- while 65% of the funding provided supported working capital position,
- 40% was used by businesses to invest in staff training, innovation, and development capital, putting recipients in a stronger position for the future
- 58% believed that all jobs in their businesses were at risk at the time of their application
- 22% of respondents reported employee numbers had grown since the beginning of the pandemic
- 23% had fewer employees at the time of the survey than prior to the pandemic.
- though the large majority of these said jobs were either saved or safeguarded thanks to Welsh Government support
