Survey: SMEs’ finances weaker

The recent Yrittäjägallup survey shows that businesses’ financial standing is still weak. Among SMEs, 45% say their situation is good. In June, that share was 50%.

“Businesses anticipate the forecast turn highly, but as recently as in the summer the situation deteriorated. The recent rise in VAT did not ease their pain,” says Mikael Pentikäinen, CEO of Suomen Yrittäjät, the Finnish SME association.

Nineteen per cent of SMEs said their businesses’ financial situation was bad. That was the same figure as in June. The situation is the weakest in the history of Yrittäjägallup surveys since May 2022.

The picture is brightest among companies employing more than five people and in industry. The bleakest situation was in retail, where 23% reported bad financial standing. In retail, construction and industry, however, the situation has improved slightly since June.

“Retail is affected by the rise in e-commerce, weak spending power and internal migration. When internal migration leads to fewer customers, that affects many specialist shops, particularly in areas with net population loss,” Pentikäinen says.

Regionally, the situation is most positive in the north and the Helsinki region. That is also where the outlook is the brightest.

“Northern companies are boosted by tourism, the military, minerals and forestry. In many areas, the green transition will also provide opportunities,” Pentikäinen says.

The Yrittäjägallup survey was answered by 1,112 representatives of micro-enterprises and SMEs between 14 and 26 August.Of the respondents, 45% were single-person business owners.

“Promising sign” in construction

At the national level, Finland’s companies’ outlooks have weakened slightly. Twenty-nine per cent of companies think their situation will improve in the next year. In June, that share was 32%. Nineteen per cent believed their situation will weaken. That was the same figure as in June.

The highest shares of believers in improved outlooks were in industry and construction. 

“Particularly in construction, there are now significantly more companies who think their outlook will improve. As recently as in June, that industry’s outlooks were considerably glummer. This is a promising sign,” Pentikäinen says.

Barely any changes have occurred to business owners’ income levels over the summer.

Read the results in more detail here.

How the survey was conducted

A total of 1,122 representatives of SMEs responded to the survey, conducted by Veriana on behalf of Suomen Yrittäjät between 14 and 26 August.
The confidence interval for the survey results is +/- 2.9 percentage points.

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