Business Climate for Solo Self-Employed Persons and Microenterprises Improves
The business climate for microenterprises and solo self-employed persons saw considerable improvement, according to the latest index for this segment (“Jimdo-ifo Business Climate Index”). This index rose to minus 2.5 points (not seasonally adjusted) in May, up from minus 7.2 points in April. “Pessimism regarding the coming months saw a clear decline,” says Klaus Wohlrabe, Head of Surveys at ifo. “But we’re still some way off from calling it optimism.”
The companies were much more satisfied with their current business, and business expectations brightened as well. However, the indicator for the current business situation is still well below that of the economy overall. The price expectations of microenterprises and the self-employed have converged with those of the economy as a whole. At least one in two companies is planning to put prices up in the next three months.
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. – Germany’s association of founders and self-employed people – is also helping to attract new participants.
