Companies do not expect a normal business situation until summer 2021

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Restaurants in the Berlin district of Prenzlauer Berg (symbol picture): Long road to normality

German companies do not expect their own business situation to normalize until summer 2021. On average, in view of the corona crisis, they expect a return to normal times in eleven months, according to a survey by the Ifo Institute.

"The road to normality is still very long for many companies," said Ifo researcher Klaus Wohlrabe. "Even if all public restrictions are lifted, companies will struggle with the consequences."

Entertainment industry particularly affected by pandemic

Corona therefore has a particularly long lasting effect on service providers: They only expect normalization after 11.7 months. 11.1 months are expected for construction, 10.3 months for retail and 10.1 months for manufacturing.

"Artistic and entertainment activities are particularly affected by the corona pandemic," said the Ifo Institute. You only assume a normal business situation after 17.5 months. The situation is similar for manufacturers, distributors and distributors of films, as well as cinemas (16.7 months), hotels (16.0) and travel agencies (14.6). In contrast, guards and security services expect a normal business situation after only 3.8 months.

In industry, textile manufacturers are particularly pessimistic. Machine builders do not expect things to return to normal until the end of next year.

apr / Reuters