K&H: SMEs are already forced to save on this

By: Trademagazin Date: 2022. 12. 01. 10:40

Businesses are planning for the next year with fewer new employees: the proportion of those planning to hire has dropped by half, while the last time so many people thought about downsizing was 10 years ago. The results of K&H’s research among SMEs also reveal that two-thirds of businesses are preparing for a wage increase, while cafeteria allowances are strongly curtailed.

According to the latest data from the KSH, the unemployment rate started to rise: in the period June-August 2022, the average number of unemployed people was 166,000 and the unemployment rate increased from 3.3 percent in May-June to 3.4 percent. And according to the latest results of the K&H SME confidence index research, which examines the expectations of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises for the next year, the number of unemployed may increase even further.

“Although the majority of businesses (70%) plan to keep the same number of employees in the year ahead, the proportion of companies considering hiring has halved (16%), and the proportion of those planning layoffs has doubled (11%) compared to the previous quarter. The last time this many people thought about downsizing was 10 years ago, at the end of 2012. The reason for this is presumably that the companies are trying to stop the increase in costs in this form as well”

– said Zoltán Rammacher, head of K&H SME marketing and sales support.