Managers’ confidence in the Romanian economy increased in Q1 2021, and the outlook for its evolution in the coming months is also better, with only 17% of managers considering that GDP will decline (compared to 46% in Q4 2020), shows a new study by the Impetum Group. Companies are beginning to face other challenges such as rising production costs, rising inflation and staff retention, according to CONFIDEX Q1 2021 results.

”CONFIDEX Q1 2021 shows us an increase in confidence and mood among managers. The analysis of the main economic indicators of the companies also shows us a positive evolution. However, although managers predict an improvement in GDP and unemployment, in 2021 we also noticed the prediction of a year with higher inflation, amid rising prices for certain commodities,” said Andrei Cionca, CEO & Co-founder of Impetum Group .

Compared to Q4 2020, CONFIDEX Q1 shows a profound change in the perception of the evolution of the economy: fewer managers believe that unemployment will increase (36% vs 54%) but more say that inflation will increase (74% vs 58%). Consequently, over 60% of managers say they will rethink the company’s strategy, prioritizing investment in innovation and digitalization. Somewhat contradictory, there are more managers concerned with increasing productivity, as the main driver of economic recovery (more than two thirds), while the number of those determined to invest in IT and R&D is declining.

At the same time, the concern of managers for the increase of sales decreases (-12%) and the concern for staff retention increases (+ 5%).

“Compared to the forecasts made at the beginning of 2021, managers are more cautious about the evolution of turnover (-1%) and profit (-4%) by the end of 2021. We also see a 3% reduction in the number of employees. In terms of investments and production costs, the initial forecasts remain stable,” added Andrei Cionca.