THE ECONOMY
ECONOMIC SENTIMENT ON EDGE
Perceptions remain subdued reflecting a cautious outlook towards the economy
Businesses find themselves grappling with a mix of emotions as they strive to adapt to the uncertain operating environment. And the latest LMD-PEPPERCUBE Business Confidence Index (BCI) survey continues to mirror a multitude of apprehensions about the economic landscape.
THE ECONOMY In May, 30 percent of survey respondents voiced optimism about the economy ‘improving’ in the next 12 months, reflecting a slight uptick of two points from April (28%).
More than one in four executives (26%) believe that the economy will ‘stay the same,’ which is a marginal increase of three percentage points compared to the previous month’s 29 percent.
Meanwhile, 44 percent feel that the economy will ‘get worse’ (April – 43%).
SALES VOLUMES Salespeople are grappling with a sense of unease as optimism regarding the prospect of sales volumes ‘getting better’ over the next 12 months has dwindled: only 31 percent anticipate an uptick, marking a five point decline compared to April.
More than a quarter of poll participants (28%) expect their sales numbers to ‘stay the same,’ which represents a modest increase from April (23%). Meanwhile, the percentage of respondents expecting sales volumes to ‘get worse’ remains stagnant at 41 percent.
Twenty-eight percent of respondents report an ‘increase’ in sales volumes over the previous 12 months, reflecting a marginal one point rise compared to April (27%).
And 26 percent say their numbers ‘stayed the same,’ marking a one point increase from the prior month. Additionally, 46 percent report lower sales volumes compared to April’s 48 percent.
There’s an improvement in expectations of higher sales volumes in the next three months with over a quarter (27%) expressing optimism about their numbers ‘getting better’ – i.e. a two percent increase from the preceding month. And nearly three in 10 (29%) expect the numbers to ‘stay the same,’ which represents a three percent decline.
On the negative scale, the prevailing sentiment remains subdued as far less than half (44%) of PepperCube’s sample population believe their sales volumes will ‘get worse’ over the next three months compared to April (43%).
INVESTMENT CLIMATE Optimism lingers at a low with merely two percent of respondents rating our investment prospects as being ‘very good.’
However, there’s a surge in the proportion of participants who perceive the outlook as ‘good’ with the percentage rising by 14 points to reach 23 percent in May.
Meanwhile, 42 percent perceive the investment climate as ‘fair’ while a third (33%) consider the outlook to be ‘poor’ or ‘very poor,’ reflecting a notable shrinkage of 12 percentage points compared to April.
EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS The May survey highlights a welcome increase in businesses aiming to ‘increase’ their employee numbers with 21 percent planning to hire staff. This marks a four percentage point rise compared to April.
A majority (73%) hope to maintain current staff levels (April – 79%) while six percent anticipate downsizing over the next six months (vs. 4% in the previous month).
