Business has become more confident in the long-term perspective - IER study

Business has become more confident in the long-term perspective.

This is evidenced by the results of 15th monthly survey of the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting (IER), Ukrainian News Agency reports.

"For the first time in the last three months, in the long-term perspective, uncertainty has decreased and business optimism has increased, but entrepreneurs have become more cautious about plans in the short- and medium-term perspective," the IER said.

Thus, in July, 20% of respondents could not share their plans for the near future - in the perspective of six months, while in June there were 17% of such respondents.

In addition, in July, compared to the previous month, the share of enterprises that plan to increase production within the next 3-4 months decreased to 44.2% from 44.8% in June.

The share of enterprises that plan to reduce production for the next quarter increased to 4% from 3.2%, and expected production volumes decreased to 51.8% from 52% in June.

At the same time, business activity compared to last year continues to improve, but the growth rate has decreased: 48.3% assess the situation better than a year ago, while in June it was 53%.

In July 2023, according to the results of the study, production load indicators slightly worsened: 7% of enterprises are operating at full capacity, while in June they were 9%, and another 52% were loaded at 75-99% compared to 53% a month earlier. As before, only 3% of respondents do not work.

At the same time, among the obstacles to the growth of production, the respondents most often mentioned the war and the unfavorable security situation: 75% of them.

Problems with finding qualified workers in July continued to grow: it is difficult to find such workers by 27.5% (25.4% in June), it is easier to find such workers by 1.5% (2.8%).

It is easy to find unskilled workers for 5.2% of respondents (against 4.5% a month earlier), it is difficult for 18.7% (19.6%).

The IER noted that only 34% of respondents raised their salaries this year, while more than half of enterprises (59%) left salaries unchanged.

The survey took place from July 17 to 31.

549 enterprises of various sizes from 21 regions of Ukraine took part in it.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, business in July cautiously assessed the results of its enterprises in the near future after three consecutive months of positive expectations.

This is evidenced by the business activity expectations index (BAEI), which the National Bank calculates every month.

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