Business Climate of the Self-Employed in Germany improved somewhat

The business climate for solo self-employed and microenterprises in Germany improved somewhat in April. The “Jimdo-ifo Business Climate Index for the Self-Employed” rose to -13.8 points*, up from -15.6 points* in March. Dissatisfaction with current business has decreased slightly, as has skepticism regarding expectations for the next six months. The signal coming from service providers is particularly positive. Here, order backlogs are slowly stabilizing. “The self-employed are hoping that the order situation will ease,” ifo Expert Katrin Demmelhuber says.

Yet, the lack of orders is still weighing on many self-employed people; 44% were affected by a lack of orders in April, down from 47.9% in January.). “The absence of an order backlog is putting further pressure on the self-employed,” says Demmelhuber.

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.

*Balances, not seasonally adjusted