According to the survey conducted between 23 November and 15 December 2020 among Italian firms with 50 or more employees, firms' assessments of the general economic situation in the fourth quarter of 2020 are less favourable compared with those reported in the previous survey, conducted between 27 August and 17 September.
The short-term prospects for firms' own economic conditions also worsened, though they remain well above the minimum levels recorded after the outbreak of the pandemic. Expectations of total demand, on the other hand, are largely stable, with the balance of opinions pointing to an improvement and a deterioration standing close to zero.
Although the overall assessment of investment conditions has become more negative, firms' spending plans suggest a growth in investment in 2021. Companies in manufacturing and in services continue to expect a reduction in employment in the first quarter of 2021, though to a lesser extent than in the previous three quarters, whereas in the construction sector employment is expected to increase further.
Consumer price inflation expectations decreased over all time horizons, to almost zero over the six-month and one-year horizons, reaching values below the lows recorded in 2016. For the next twelve months, firms expect to moderately increase their selling prices, which have remained unchanged over the past year.
