MV companies almost at pre-Corona level: concern about energy prices

The northeast economy, which is mostly less dependent on exports, is robust.

According to the survey, many companies have already reached pre-corona levels.

There are worries in the catering industry - as well as a lack of specialists and high energy prices.

Neubrandenburg / Schwerin - Most companies in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are largely optimistic about the future after one and a half years of Corona.

That is the result of the autumn economic surveys by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Neubrandenburg and Schwerin, which were presented on Wednesday.

For example, the economic climate index in the east of the country rose to the level of the end of 2019, with 125.6 points in Schwerin.

"We are back at the pre-Corona level of autumn 2019, that also surprised us," said Neubrandenburg General Manager Torsten Haasch in front of journalists.

In the Mecklenburg Lake District and Vorpommern-Greifswald districts, 97 percent of the companies surveyed rated their situation as “good” to “satisfactory”.

Three out of four companies also see their financial situation as unproblematic.

In the east, all sectors were positive about the coming months.

The spectrum ranges from 96 percent in industry, 92 percent in services, 79 percent in construction to 76 percent in the hospitality industry, said Haasch.

At the IHK Schwerin, on the other hand, concerns about skilled workers and rising raw material and energy prices were even more pronounced.

Despite relatively good summer business, there is great uncertainty about the further course of the corona pandemic, said the IHK for West Mecklenburg.

More than half of the companies rated their situation as “good”.

This exceeded expectations compared to early summer 2021.

“The economy expects politicians to avoid closings in any case, as in the previous year,” said Siegbert Eisenach, IHK General Manager in Schwerin, explaining the expectations with regard to the Corona situation for the winter.

The around 24,000 companies have hygiene measures and concepts for responsible interaction with customers and employees.

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In September, 233,832 people were registered as unemployed in Baden-Württemberg - 13,376 fewer than in August, as the regional directorate of the employment agency announced on Thursday in Stuttgart.

The unemployment rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to 3.7 percent.

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Haasch criticized above all the increasing energy costs, including electricity and fuel costs.

Here the state must significantly reduce its shares.

The electricity tax in Germany is four times higher than what the EU actually stipulates.

In addition, electricity costs in the northeast are even higher than the national average due to the high network charges.

370 companies took part in the autumn survey in Neubrandenburg.

This IHK represents around 25,000 companies between Greifswald, Usedom, Müritz and Poland.

dpa