HELSINKI, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) — The outlook for Finnish SMEs has seen a modest improvement since the spring, but overall expectations remain negative, according to the latest small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) Barometer survey published Thursday.
Company expectations have rebounded from the exceptionally negative sentiment seen earlier this year, reaching levels similar to those of the previous year.
This positive shift comes as the impacts of the energy crisis and the conflict in Ukraine have stabilized.
However, expectations remain negative, with a slight economic downturn expected over the next year, and a cautious approach to investment from SMEs.
The survey revealed that 21 percent of SMEs anticipate an improvement in the economic cycle within the next year, while 27 percent expect a deterioration.
The responses from the construction industry stood out as the most negative, while the commerce sector showed the largest improvement since last spring.
The service sector was the only one without negative expectations.
SMEs’ willingness to invest remains modest. In all main sectors, companies planning to reduce their investments outnumber those planning to increase them.
On the other hand, expectations of turnover and solvency have improved from the spring survey.
Meanwhile, 14 percent of SMEs intend to increase their number of staff, although most SMEs (74 percent) plan to maintain the current number of employees.
Enterprises that employ less than 250 people are considered small or medium-sized in Finland. Of the slightly less than 300,000 SMEs in the country, 275,000 employed less than ten people in 2020, according to Statistics Finland.
The SME Barometer is published twice a year by the Federation of Finnish Enterprises, Finnvera, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.
This time, approximately 4,600 companies responded to the survey, which was conducted from mid-June 2023 to mid-July 2023.
