Creditreform: Little noticeable of optimism in companies
Unsurprisingly, the SME mood barometer of the creditors' protection association Creditreform also collapsed during the corona crisis. At minus 2 points, it is well below the previous year's figure of plus 17.9 points and thus as bad as it was six years ago. There is little sign of optimism in the companies, and hardly anyone is currently expecting an improvement in business performance.
The construction industry has done best in the past six months. The service industry, on the other hand, has been hit hard. Here the economic indicators fell particularly sharply, according to a broadcast.
Overall, the indices fell significantly in all four main economic sectors surveyed. The only positive thing was the construction industry with 12.2 points (previous year: 33.5 points) and retail with at least 2.7 points (previous year: 13.7 points). The mood slump in the service industry is even more evident – here the index lost 28.5 points and is now minus 11.6 points (previous year: plus 16.9 points). The manufacturing sector recorded a drop of 14.9 points and is now minus 2.2 points (previous year: 12.7 points).
“The corona measures provide temporary support,” said Gerhard Weinhofer from Creditreform in Austria. Most medium-sized companies in Austria have used the Corona short-time work (82 percent) as a crisis aid.
