Survey: Half of employers forecasting economic recovery within one year

More than 50 percent of Estonian employers forecast the economic indicators of their business will bounce back within one year at most, it appears from the results of a survey conducted by the Salary Information Agency and the employment portal CVKeskus.ee among some 600 employers.
Employers who have seen their economic indicators decline were asked to estimate when their figures might bounce back to last year's levels.
54 percent of the respondents forecast that their indicators will recover within a year at most. 9 percent estimated a recovery within the coming few months, 14 percent within six months and 31 percent in one year.
Twenty-one percent said that the recovery will likely take more than a year and 3 percent fear it may never take place. 22 percent could not give an estimate on the matter.
Kadri Seeder, head of the Salary Information Agency, said: "While businesses' economic indicators continue to be lower compared with those from last year, the number of businesses whose revenue of profit had significantly fallen was much lower in June compared with April."
In April, a significant drop in revenue and profits was seen by 29 percent and 32 percent of employers, respectively, the corresponding figures in June, however, were 19 percent and 20 percent, she said.
"One-tenth of employers pointed out that their revenue and profits had increased in yearly comparison instead. Improved economic results were demonstrated by companies in IT, construction and electrical contracting," Seeder noted.
Henry Auvaart, marketing chief at CVKeskus.ee, said employers were also requested to assess the general mood in their enterprise, which is also linked to changes in economic results.
"Compared with April, the mood in organizations has become much more positive - 50 percent of employers said the mood was pessimistic in April, whereas in June two-thirds said that the mood is rather positive and optimistic in their organization," he said.
"A pickup in attitudes is also indicated by businesses engaging in more recruitment activities - compared with April, there were 60 percent more job offers published in June and the uptick in the number of jobs on offer has also continued in July," Auvaart said.
The Salary Information Agency in cooperation with CVKeskus.ee surveyed altogether 698 representatives of organizations in April and 589 in a repeat survey in June.
In addition to changes in basic salaries, employers' recruitment and redundancy plans were also studied as well as changes in business revenue and profits, forecasts for recovery, leaders' values in their decision-making processes and the effects of introducing the option of working remotely.
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Editor: Helen Wright