The business climate for self-employed individuals and small companies showed a slight improvement in June, though it remains significantly negative. According to the Ifo Institute’s business climate index, the figure rose from minus 27.7 points in May to minus 25.9 points. While the self-employed report less pessimistic expectations for the coming months, they judged their current situation to be worse than it was in the previous month. Ifo expert Katrin Demmelhuber stated that there is no evidence of a definitive trend reversal; although the general direction is positive, a comprehensive recovery is still a long way off.
However, differences are noticeable across various professional groups. Self-employed service providers rated their current situation less negatively, yet they remain pessimistic when looking at the future. Conversely, self-employed retailers showed less skepticism regarding future expectations, though their appraisal of current business operations worsened, reaching a low point.
Furthermore, securing loans and other financing options from banks is becoming increasingly challenging for self-employed people. In the second quarter, the proportion of self-employed individuals reporting difficulties in loan negotiations rose to 44.8 percent, up from 34.6 percent. This trend mirrors the overall economy, where the percentage of those facing financial difficulties climbed from 31.7 percent to 40.1 percent. Despite this growing difficulty, the demand for credit remains low, with only 9.3 percent of sole traders and small businesses consulting banks about loans. Demmelhuber noted that these results indicate a palpable difficulty in obtaining credit for small businesses, particularly for self-employed retailers. In the retail sector specifically, the rate of self-employed individuals facing difficulties accessing credit soared from 41.0 to 59.1 percent. Simultaneously, more retailers made loan inquiries, with the proportion rising from 13.3 to 14.8 percent.
