According to KSV1870, the majority of the companies are directly affected by the economic consequences of the Covid 19 crisis, but optimism prevails in many places.
The past year was not easy for the domestic economy: lockdowns, short-time work, declines in sales. “Regardless of this, the year 2020 is rated positively by 60 percent of the around 600 companies surveyed. In addition, around three quarters of the companies start the new year with positive expectations,” says the business information service provider KSV1870. That is the result of the Austrian Business QuickCheck, which KSV1870 carried out at the end of the second lockdown in December 2020. Furthermore, more than a quarter of those surveyed do not expect the economic situation to ease until the third quarter of 2021 at the earliest – just as many expect this to happen in 2022. The “uncertainty as to when the Covid 19 crisis will end” continues to be seen as the greatest concern.
The consequences of the lockdowns
The corona crisis not only led to a dramatic drop in sales in Austria, but it also makes a clear future forecast extremely difficult. While
60 percent of those surveyed rated the past year as positive overall despite the unpleasant circumstances, 40 percent see it as significantly more negative, 13 percent see it as “very negative”.
In addition, the results of the KSV1870 survey show that “the economic consequences of the first two lockdowns were equally negative for around a third of companies.
For a quarter, the second lockdown was less dramatic than the first, while Lockdown I and II had no financial impact on 17 percent of the establishments. Eight percent report that the two lockdowns have had a positive effect on their finances. “
The glass is half-full
“The local economy continues to regard the glass as half full. The companies have to stick to this approach in order to be able to get started again in 2021, ”says KSV1870 Ricardo-José Vybiral. “Slightly more than half assume that the economic situation will ease in the course of the year – 27 percent do not expect this to happen before the 3rd quarter of 2021 at the earliest. Another 27 percent are looking hopefully to 2022, while eleven percent are convinced that the economy will not ease up until 2025 at the earliest. “
What's next
As part of the Austrian Business QuickCheck, KSV1870 also asked what the company's biggest concerns are currently. As in previous months, everything still revolves around the question of when the corona crisis will end:
“For 52 percent, this uncertainty is currently the greatest concern. This is followed by the risk of Covid 19 infection of employees at 40 percent and the uncertainty of how things will continue after the pandemic from a business and economic point of view (38 percent)”, says it further. “In addition, customers' late payments (32 percent) and the fact that employees (again) have to be put on short-time work (25 percent) are a real headache.”
Clear ideas
According to KSV1870, the entrepreneurs have very specific ideas about how the economic turnaround should be achieved: 78 percent expect a wide range of tax relief (especially with regard to wage tax), 50 percent support comprehensive measures to reduce unemployment and 39 percent see the liberalization of labor law ( including home office, liberalization of working hours) great potential.
Vybiral: “So that we can concentrate on sustainably strengthening the domestic economy, it will be necessary to leave crisis actionism behind us and instead return to a competitive economy.”
