Business Outlook Survey of Industrial and Service Firms - 2025
The assessments of sales by firms with 20 or more employees point to further growth in non-financial private services and to a renewed contraction in manufacturing, although less pronounced than in the previous survey, over the first nine months of 2025. The outlook for turnover in the next six months is positive overall, on both the domestic and foreign markets. The impact of US tariffs on sales is reported to have been negative but, on the whole, moderate in the first nine months of the year, with a slight deterioration expected in the fourth quarter.
The balance between the share of firms reporting an increase in hours worked and that of firms reporting a reduction remains positive, although it is down from the previous survey. The employment outlook for 2025 as a whole remains positive.
Firms' assessments point to an increase in demand for bank loans and a further improvement in credit access conditions in 2025.
Two-thirds of firms delivered on their investment plans for 2025, which included higher expenditure overall. Where investment plans were revised, the decision was driven mainly by internal organizational factors; upward revisions were partly related to product or process innovations, while downward revisions were also due to weak demand and uncertainty. Firms expect a further expansion in investment spending in 2026.
Construction activity picked up in 2025, buoyed by public works, and the assessments for 2026 point to further growth.
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06 November 2025
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06 November 2025TablesZIP 331 KB
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09 November 2017
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06 November 20252025 Business Outlook Survey: QuestionnairesZIP 332 KB
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