The conjunctural survey of trade and service sector managers about their assessments of business activity of the fourth quarter revealed a seasonal decline in the mood. While the balance of responses regarding demand, sales revenue and prices was positive, the outlook for the staffing composition of the industry slipped to the majority of negative responses.
Manufacturing and construction executives forecast moderate growth in business activity, prices, and stable sales revenue for the fourth quarter. Regarding the number of employees, they were more optimistic, but the short-term balance of the forecast was near zero.
In the third quarter, the survey found that 54.6% of all respondents experienced business activity constraints. The main reason remains insufficient market demand (mentioned by 33.9% of respondents). Also, the activities of enterprises are negatively affected by financial problems (22.8%), lack of skilled labor (21.3%), consequences of the crisis caused by the war in Ukraine (9.3%), lack of space and/or equipment (3.7%).
