Business Climate for Solo Self-Employed Persons and Microenterprises in Germany Recovers Somewhat
The business climate for microenterprises and solo self-employed persons recovered marginally, according to the latest index for this segment (“Jimdo-ifo Business Climate Index”). It rose to minus 7.2 points (not seasonally adjusted) in April, up from minus 10.0 points in March. “The outlook for the coming months is still marked by pessimism,” says Klaus Wohlrabe, Head of Surveys at ifo. “Many small businesses continue to worry about their survival.”
The rise in the index is primarily due to the improved assessments of the current situation; expectations for the coming months improved only slightly.
The perceived threat to survival among microenterprises and the solo self-employed is also high, with 18.9 percent of respondents saying as much. This is more than twice as high as in the economy as a whole, at 7.1 percent.
Microenterprises and the solo self-employed also want to continue raising prices, but they are somewhat more reluctant than medium-sized and large companies.
The ifo Institute has been publishing the Jimdo-ifo Business Climate Index for solo self-employed persons and microenterprises (fewer than nine employees) since August 2021. As in the composite index, all sectors of the economy are taken into account. However, its main focus is the service sector. The index is based on a collaboration with Jimdo, a provider of online tools specially geared toward the solo self-employed and small businesses, and aims to improve the visibility of microenterprises. In addition to Jimdo, VGSD e.V. – a German association of founders and self-employed people – is also helping to attract new participants.
