Almost half of companies in Liechtenstein continue to regard the general economic situation as poor at the end of the first half of 2020, with only the construction industry doing well for the most part. However, the situation is generally expected to stabilize in the current quarter.

The Office for Statistics (AS) evaluated the responses of 74 companies from the industrial and service sectors for the most recent edition of its quarterly economic survey, as outlined by AS in a publication accompanying the survey. In terms of employment numbers, the companies surveyed represent 70 percent of the industrial sector or 25 percent of the service sector.
According to the findings, 49 percent of companies continue to regard the general economic situation as poor in the second quarter of the year, while 40 percent regard it as satisfactory. However, 11 percent remain pleased with what they regard as a good overall situation.
 
In the industrial and manufacturing sectors, 51 percent of the companies surveyed described the general economic situation in the quarter under review as poor. The mood here is lowest in the non-metal industry, where 77 percent of those surveyed described the situation as poor and only 22 percent as satisfactory. The corresponding figures for the service sector were 47 percent and 41 percent respectively.
In contrast, around 53 percent of companies in the construction industry describe the general situation mid-year as good and a further 40 percent as satisfactory.
The majority of companies surveyed expect the economic situation to remain stable in the current quarter.
“Despite the decline in demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the companies surveyed do not currently anticipate that they will have to reduce their workforces,” wrote the analysts.  
In the industrial sector, companies expect to see an improvement in machine and capacity utilization, and the metal industry is even planning on creating new jobs. The analysts predict that the construction industry will also likely increase its workforce in the coming months.

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