Some 25.3 per cent of the companies surveyed termed their situation good, 50.1 per cent as seasonal and 24.6 per cent as poor. While the business climate is below average in manufacturing, retail and wholesale, transport and hospitality as well as in the media and consulting sectors, the construction industry, IT and healthcare sectors as well as financial service providers all reported above-average figures.
Companies cited the economic policy environment (59 per cent) and weak domestic demand (54 per cent) as the main hurdles. "Although we are observing a slight upward trend, the economic upturn is still a long time coming," said Malte Heyne, Managing Director of the Chamber of Commerce in Hamburg. Respondents were also surveyed about the impact of AI in Q2: "How do you rate the impact of AI on your company's workforce over the next five years?". Almost six out of ten of respondents (58 per cent) expect staffing levels to remain more or less the same, 9 per cent said that staff numbers would increase, while 26 per cent said they would decrease.
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