More optimism among entrepreneurs, but not in all sectors

The data for this survey were collected at the beginning of April 2021.

At the start of Q2 2021, the sentiment indicator stood at 2.3, over 8 points higher than in the previous quarter. One year earlier, the coronavirus crisis caused an unprecedented decline in business confidence. Business sentiment largely recovered in the quarters that followed, but was predominantly negative until the start of the second quarter. The increased confidence by the beginning of April is mainly due to a more positive outlook for the next three months. Business confidence comprises both opinions on the recent past and expectations for the near future.

Pessimism within sectors diminishes

Almost all sectors saw an increase in entrepreneurial confidence, but in many sectors the sentiment indicator was not yet positive. For the third consecutive quarter, entrepreneurs in construction were the most optimistic. The next most positive sector was wholesale trade, where business confidence even increased by 12.3 points. Confidence also improved considerably in automotive trade, although traders remained gloomy. Similar to early 2021, entrepreneurs in accommodation and food services had the most pessimistic outlook, but this sector was considerably less negative as well compared to the previous quarter. This is due to the fact that turnover expectations in this sector improved on balance, as did turnover development and the development of the economic climate over the past quarter. Due to the weighting of the various sectors, overall business confidence was positive at the beginning of April.

Brexit mainly causes problems due to administrative burdens

In this quarter's Business Survey, an additional question was asked about obstacles businesses experience as a result of Brexit. Slightly more than half of the entrepreneurs surveyed indicated that they do business with the United Kingdom. Twenty-four percent of them encounter obstacles due to administrative burdens, such as the required certificates. In addition, more than 15 percent of exporters said they are faced with additional costs due to import and export duties, for instance. An almost equally large group experience problems due to border formalities; since Brexit, exporters have had to deal with the 'rules of origin', whereby the country of origin must be assigned to a product in order to determine its 'economic nationality'. Few companies experience problems with the procurement of raw materials and consumables or commodities, or with changed product and safety requirements. Nearly 40 percent of traders with the United Kingdom do not encounter any obstacles as a result of Brexit.

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