Depressed mood in the Saxon trade sector
Despite a good order situation in many business areas, Saxon craft businesses are skeptical about the future. This is the result of the autumn economic survey presented by the Saxon Crafts Day in Dresden on Thursday. According to the survey, skepticism and uncertainty about future business dominate in almost all trade groups.
According to the survey, which was conducted in September and in which almost 1,400 craft businesses took part, almost half of them (47 percent) currently rate the business situation as good, 39 percent as satisfactory and 14 percent as poor. This means that there are hardly any deviations from the mood in last fall's survey. However, when asked about their expectations for the next quarter, only 6% of businesses stated that they expected the situation to improve, 64% expected it to remain the same and 30% expected it to deteriorate.
"On the one hand, private consumers are still very reluctant to make new purchases due to inflation and the decline in net wages," said Tobias Neubert, Vice President of the Crafts Association. On the other hand, high energy and material prices and the chronic shortage of personnel are generally slowing down growth in the skilled crafts sector. "Where there is still room for improvement, there are no people, and prices are high for the rest, to put it simply," summarized Neubert.
According to Neubert, the mood in the Saxon skilled trades sector is particularly depressed because the main construction industry has lost traction as an economic driver for the sector. The restraint is particularly noticeable in new buildings. The main construction trade includes the professions of bricklayers, concrete workers, roofers, tilers, carpenters and road builders.
Despite the optimistic order situation in several business areas, the economic situation has led to skepticism among Saxon craft businesses about future prospects. This is evident in the high number of craft businesses expecting their situation to remain the same or deteriorate in the next quarter, as highlighted by Tobias Neubert, Vice President of the Crafts Association.
Source: www.dpa.com
