The Industry association Bitkom The index for the current business situation in the digital sector, compiled by the Ifo Institute and the Bitkom-Ifo Digital Index, rose by 3.6 points to 41.8 points in January. Business expectations for the next six months climbed by 7.0 points to 18.9 points. The Bitkom-Ifo Digital Index, which is calculated based on the assessment of the business situation and business expectations, improved by 5.4 points to 30.0 points compared to the previous month. The business climate thus reached the level seen before the coronavirus pandemic.
"The majority of digital companies can look forward to a very good business situation and expect the number of orders to continue to increase in the short term. There is hardly a lack of demand, and there is great confidence that the price-driving supply bottlenecks will soon be resolved,"
says Bitkom President Achim Berg.
“We expect stable growth for the Bitkom industry this year.”
The labor market is also showing signs of growth. Employment expectations rose significantly, reaching 35.1 points, up 5.9 points from the previous month. The majority of companies plan to hire additional workers in the next three months.
“According to our calculations, the digital sector will create 40,000 new jobs this year,”
says Berg. At the same time, prices are likely to rise. The price index rose by 5.7 points to 40.7.
Recruitment is the biggest problem for the digital industry
Staffing concerns are currently the biggest business obstacle in the digital sector. The indicator for the shortage of skilled workers has reached a new high in the digital sector. At 47.3 points, it rose by 2.0 points and is the highest level since the first survey in 2006. There has been little change on the demand side. The index for lack of demand rose slightly by 0.6 points to 21.5 points. Financing difficulties currently play a virtually negligible role at 2.1 points (-0.5).
Sentiment in the overall economy also brightened, but not as significantly as in the digital sector. The Ifo business climate index rose by 1.9 points to 9.1. The business situation declined by 1.8 points to 19.1. Expectations increased significantly by 5.3 points and were now only slightly negative at -0.4.
