The business confidence survey launched in the municipality by the Tourism Department in order to know the perception of businessmen about the evolution of the economic situation of the municipality has its first conclusions regarding the third quarter of 2024.
The data reflect a positive business confidence in Calpe and higher than the average for the Valencian Community and Spain. 34% of companies rated the previous quarter as favourable, compared to only 15.3% who considered it unfavourable. As for the current quarter, 29.9% expect it to be favourable, while only 17.6% believe it will be unfavourable.
In the employers' assessment of employment, the survey shows a positive balance of job creation in the previous quarter (11%) and this is expected to continue in the current quarter (9.9%). Larger firms tend to increase their workforces more in this quarter.
In terms of prices, there is an upward trend in prices, with 26.2% of firms increasing prices last quarter and 20.6% expecting to do so in the current quarter. The turnover balance was also positive (6.2%) in the previous quarter and is expected to improve (13.7%) in the current quarter. There was a positive investment balance (13.9%) in the previous quarter, although the expectation for the current quarter is slightly moderated (5.3%).
Regarding the main constraints on activity, Calpe businesspeople point to: inflation (44%), increased competition (35.9%), weak demand (29.3%) and a shortage of suitable labour (28.5%).
Overall, the report shows an optimistic outlook for Calpe's business sector for the third quarter of 2024, with positive expectations in most indicators, although some challenges are also identified, mainly related to inflation and competition.
According to the Councillor for Tourism Promotion, Marco Bittner, "The results of the business confidence survey show that Calpe is in a solid and growing position, exceeding regional and national expectations. Our entrepreneurs are creating jobs and increasing their investments, which reflects their confidence in the future of our town.
However, we cannot ignore the challenges we face. Inflation, increased competition and a shortage of skilled labour are real concerns for our local businesses.
We are therefore committed to working closely with the business sector to address these challenges. We will promote training programmes to improve the skills of our workforce, we will promote policies that encourage innovation and competitiveness, and we will look for ways to mitigate the impact of inflation on our local businesses.