Businesses are optimistic for 2024, but remain cautious
The Spanish business panorama starts the year 2024 with a level of confidence above the European average, according to the "Business Outlook Survey 2024", carried out by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with Eurochambres.
This survey, in which 2,098 national companies participated out of a total of 43,000 European participants, indicates that Spanish entrepreneurs show an optimism that exceeds the pessimists by 16.6%, a figure considerably higher than the average for the European Union (3.7) and the Eurozone (3.2).
The report highlights the following variables analysed: domestic sales, exports, employment and investment. Specifically, it highlights the optimism regarding exports, with a positive balance of 35.2 points, in contrast to the 4.3 points of the European average. In addition, expectations for domestic sales also show a favourable balance of 21.2 points, exceeding the 7 points of the European average.
However, in terms of employment and investment, although optimism is maintained (4.3 points and 5.8 points, respectively), these figures moderate somewhat, although they are always above the expectations of European companies.
Compared to 2023, expectations for last year were not fully realised in exports and domestic sales, but were realised in investment and employment, according to the survey results. In 2023, the difference between the expected increase in exports and the forecast reductions was 21.7 points, but the actual positive balance was 6.5 points. In domestic sales, the forecast was 7 points, while the final result was 5.9 points.
Obstacles for Spanish companies
The constraints identified by Spanish companies for their activity in 2024 are centred on labour costs, pointed out by 66.6% of the companies surveyed, well above the European average of 39.1%. The shortage of qualified personnel is also a concern for 42.6% of companies, above the European average of 36.5%.
The price of energy and raw materials is ranked as the third obstacle for companies in Spain, although European companies are more concerned in relative terms (42.9% compared to 37.4% in Spain). However, there is a decrease in concern about the price of energy in Spanish companies compared to 2023, when 62.2% of companies considered it to be a conditioning factor for their activity.
While Spanish companies show widespread optimism for 2024, they remain cautious due to the experiences of the previous year and the identification of obstacles such as labour costs and shortages of qualified personnel, suggesting a positive outlook with caution.