KOF Business Situation: Once Again Improved

In August, the business situation improved particularly in the construction sector and the banking and insurance sector (see G 10). Project engineering companies, the manufacturing industry and the retail sector also recorded a slight plus, providing the general improvement with a broad basis. Wholesalers, hotel and catering enterprises and the other service providers were last surveyed in July. At the time, the sectors were following very different trends. While the business situation improved greatly in the wholesale sector and significantly in the service sector, the hotel and catering industry reported a substantial setback.

From a regional perspective, August presents a rather heterogeneous picture:  The business situation improved in North-West Switzerland, the Zurich region, Central Switzerland and Ticino (see G 11). In contrast, Eastern Switzerland and the Lake Geneva region reported a slight slow-down and Espace Mittelland a somewhat more noticeable setback. However, the slight decline in Eastern Switzerland and the Lake Geneva region should be seen against the background of the significant improvement in the preceding months.  

Note:

Graph G 9 presents the KOF business situation across all sectors covered by the survey. The business situation in sectors which are surveyed on a quarterly basis is kept constant during the intervening months.

Graph G 10 presents the business situation and the current changes. In the case of the monthly surveys, the changes over the previous month are highlighted. In the case of the quarterly surveys, the changes between the latest quarterly value and the previous quarter are marked. The quarterly values are updated in the first month of every quarter and are not adjusted during the intervening months.

Graph G 11 presents the business situation in the main regions according to the Federal Statistics Office. The regions are coloured according to business situation. The arrows in the regions indicate the change in the business situation compared to the previous month. An upward-pointing arrow, for instance, indicates that the situation has improved over the previous month.

The KOF business situation is based on over 4,500 reports by Swiss companies. Every month, businesses are surveyed in the following sectors: industry, retail trade, construction and project engineering as well as financial and insurance services. Businesses in the hotel and catering sector, wholesalers and the other service providers are surveyed in the first month of every quarter. Among other questions, the businesses are asked to assess their current business situation. They may rate their situation as ‘good’, ‘satisfactory’ or ‘bad’. The balance of the current business situation is the percentage difference between the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ responses.