Almost three in four companies rated the current business situation as satisfactory at the end of 2020. No fundamental changes are expected for the current quarter. The main issue being faced is the coronavirus pandemic and the various associated measures.

Once each quarter, the Office for Statistics (AS) surveys managers in the industrial and service sectors for their assessments of the current situation and expectations of future economic developments. In the latest survey as at the end of September, 73 percent of respondents regarded the general business situation as satisfactory, as the AS outlined in a publication on the survey. The situation was rated as good by 9 percent, while the remaining 18 percent viewed it as poor.
In general, no improvement is expected in the general situation over the current quarter, the analysts at the AS report. The coronavirus pandemic continues to keep companies firmly in its grasp, the publication writes. When asked about issues impeding production, companies in the survey predominantly mentioned the pandemic and measures being implemented to combat the crisis.
Among companies in the industrial sector, seven out of ten rated the general situation in the reporting quarter as satisfactory. Almost half of companies have seen an improvement on the previous quarter, the analysts explained in the publication. For the current quarter, the majority are expecting the business situation to continue to improve. 
Companies in the service sector also regarded the general situation as satisfactory. However, here 44 percent of respondents expect a worsening of the situation and 39 percent anticipate no change in the current quarter. Only 17 percent of those surveyed in the service sector believe they will see an improvement.
For the latest issue of the economic survey, the AS evaluated responses from 73 companies in the industrial and service sectors. In terms of employment, the surveyed companies represent 70 percent of the industrial sector and 25 percent of the service sector

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