
Estonian entrepreneurs consider that the main problems of this year will be the continued inflation and high prices for energy and fuel. An survey conducted by Norstat on behalf of Luminor, businesses are also concerned about securing cash flows and saving jobs
. Worker plant. Photo illustrative. Photo: Shutterstock
Estonian businessmen believe that the main problems of this year will be continued inflation and high prices for energy and fuel. An survey conducted by Norstat on behalf of Luminor, businesses are also concerned about securing cash flows and keeping jobs.
Inflation and high suppressions of production are called the primary challenge of this year 40 percent small and medium enterprises in Estonia, that is, the companies with up to 249 employees.
“Inflation is the most important factor that will have the most impact on business in the next two years: it is named by almost every second -48 percent of the surveyed managers of businesses. Practically as many as a 47 percent, pointed to the dependence of the success of the success of their business on the stability of the general economic environment, and 25 percent have separately referred to the forming of prices for energy.” – said said the head of corporate banking Luminor in Estonia Indrek Julge, describing the view of entrepreneurs for the current and next year.
According to Yulge, the results are.The survey clearly reflects more than two-year economic stagnation in Estonia and a determined degree of uncertainty of entrepreneurs, as well as a pessimistic view of the future.
“In difference, for example, from our southern neighbors Latvia, in Estonia in this year no special attention to the recruitment of new staff – at this time as in Latvia 35 percent of entrepreneurs cited hiring employees as one of the key challenges for 2025 year, in Estonia this indicator was only 16 percent,” Yulge said.
“Only a quarter of Estonian companies plan to hire new employees in this year, half are not. In Latvia the picture is almost the opposite: more than 40 percent are hiring new employees, and only a quarter said in the survey that they won’t do this, ” he added.
Julge noted that despite the difficult economic conditions, Estonian businesses in the past years have mainly avoided reductions in staff, and this is reflected in our continued relatively low unemployment rate.
“A third of the managers of Estonian businesses called saving jobs as the challenge of this year,” Added the head of the department of Corporate Bank Luminor in Estonia.
Of course, significantlyincreasedexpenses,includingtheeffectsofincreasedtaxes,areforcingcompaniestocriticallyreviewtheiractivitiesandseekopportunitiestoincreaseefficiency.Buttheresultsofthesurveyalsoclearlyshowthatcompaniesdon’twanttobeinasituation,whentheywillfacedwithalabor shortage,wheneconomicconditionswillimprove.