60% of companies declare an increase Uncertainty regarding economic policy It’s negatively impacting its operations and has actually become a key determinant of its business in the fourth quarter of the year. This is due to: Bank of Spain Business Activity Survey (EBAE) regarding the organization’s fourth quarter published this Thursday. With second quarter in a row The survey reveals that the increase in political uncertainty, which hit rock bottom in the second quarter, negatively affected business activities. Call for 23-J general electionsThis factor was mentioned as a burden by 46.6% of the companies surveyed.
EBAE is a survey that allows the Bank of Spain to obtain quarterly real-time information on billing, employment, prices paid and collected, costs and the main determinants of companies’ business. Field work was conducted for the fourth quarter survey Between 13-27 November Through an online survey of a sample of 15,000 companies, 6,240 of them provided valid responses. Although there is no reference to this in the Bank of Spain article, the fact is that during the period in which the survey was carried out – between 13 and 27 November – there were significant examples of rejection of the survey by representatives of the business community. amnesty Negotiations took place between PSOE and the Catalan independence groups Junts and ERC.
Problems as well as political uncertainty workforce availability They also had an increasing impact (negative sign) on business activities. 42.5% of surveyed companies stated this (almost 4 points higher than in the third quarter). EBAE shows that the issues remain important, especially in Europe. hospitality, agriculture and constructionMore than 50% of companies declare that they are affected by this challenge. Certainly, these are the sectors that expect the biggest increases in labor costs in the coming quarters.
59% of companies also say this is a burden Increase in your energy costs, However, this rate decreased by 6 points compared to the third quarter.
Companies observed an overall weakening. inflationary pressures In the fourth quarter of the year, there was an increase in both the production costs they incurred and the sales prices they offered. However, they expect a slight recovery for next year.
In the fourth quarter, 25.3% of companies announced that they increased their prices compared to the previous quarter (this rate is slightly below 26.4% in the third quarter). Regarding expectations Recovery is expected in the first quarter of 2024According to the Bank of Spain’s interpretation, this may be a reflection of the calendar effect, since price adjustments in many activities tend to be concentrated at the beginning of the year. Although this expected increase in sales prices is general in productive branches, it is more intense in branches such as information and communication services, transportation, administrative and leisure activities.