Services (Germany):
Renewed cooling of business climate

In the German service sector the business climate has also cooled down. The surveyed firms are again more dissatisfied with their present business situation. In addition, they regard the six-month business outlook even more sceptically. The demand for their services has weakened somewhat and the firms are more dissatisfied with their order reserves. In addition they expect weaker demand also for the coming three months. As a result, the service providers do not intend to hire additional personnel. In the area of goods transport, an interesting area for business-activity observation, the business climate has worsened considerably. Despite some relief on the cost side from falling energy prices, the firms have assessed their current situation much more unfavourably than up to now. Demand has decreased. Also in the coming months the survey participants expect the decline in demand to continue. With regard to the business outlook they are accordingly sceptical. It is still an open question, however, of the extent to which the future costs from the higher Autobahn tolls have influenced the results. A considerable worsening in the business climate also occurred in the area of job placement and worker posting, which includes the temporary employment agencies. The firms reported a clearly worsened demand situation and are dissatisfied with their order situation. For firms in business and public-relations consulting the business situation is almost as positive as before. Although here too the firms no longer reckon with sales increases in the next three months, they still intend to expand personnel levels.