70% of Spanish entrepreneurs expect their sales to increase over the next year and 50% expect to increase their investments, a more moderate optimism than they showed last year, when those percentages were 7 and 10 points above, according to a report by the consultancy KPMG and the CEOE.
According to the results of the report Perspectivas España published this Sunday -prepared from an online survey of 1,116 entrepreneurs and managers-, entrepreneurs are optimistic about the situation of their companies -three out of four consider it good or excellent- and almost half of them expect this situation to improve this year.
However, only 38% of respondents plan to increase the workforce, 8 points less than in last year’s report, and there are 12% who plan to reduce it.
This year’s report is marked by inflation, which has had a high impact for 69% of managers, a price increase that half of those interviewed has already had an impact and that another 31% expect to do so in the coming months.
In fact, 53% of entrepreneurs place the implementation of measures to alleviate inflation among their strategic priorities, a percentage similar to what they consider the rise in prices as one of the main threats to the Spanish economy.
Thus, business risks include three inflation-related elements – energy costs, price volatility and demand risk – coupled with political uncertainty.
Strategic priorities also include attracting talent (for 49% of respondents), with 59% of employers finding it difficult to onboard the talent they need.
The president of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, points out in the report that the conclusions of the survey show “the need to promote effective support measures for companies to maintain the progress of the economy and employment, as well as to have a framework of political stability and regulatory quality”.
For his part, the president of KPMG in Spain, Juanjo Cano, highlighted the optimism of entrepreneurs, who “are based on a firm commitment to continue advancing in digital and sustainable transformation”.
