Cepyme warns that business business figures point to a "slowdown", which will be aggravated by the ECB

"Normalization has been confused with prosperity to apply a policy of increased costs and more taxes for companies," denounces

MADRID, 21 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Spanish Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises (Cepyme) has warned this Friday that business business figures point to a "worrying slowdown" in activity and has warned that this situation will worsen in the coming months as a result of the tightening of the monetary policy of the European Central Bank (ECB).

As Cepyme points out in a statement, business business figures have gone from reflecting a "false bonanza" that was the result of its normalization, after the extremely complicated situation experienced during 2020 and 2021, to pointing to a "marked slowdown" that is consistent with a significant slowdown that the economy has been registering since the second half of 2022.

The employers' association of SMEs views with concern the fall that for the second consecutive month is registered by the General Index of Business Turnover, which presented an annual variation of -2.7% in May, at a seasonally adjusted rate, and -2.5%, at the original rate.

Cepyme I have highlighted the deterioration in the turnover of the commerce sector, in line with the fall in household final consumption spending in the final part of 2022 and the beginning of 2023. According to Cepyme, this is in line with a scenario in which SMEs contribute to containing inflation so as not to lose customers, despite the fact that their accounts are greatly affected by cost increases.

In parallel, the employers point out that the situation of the industry is quite complex in a scenario in which its demand does not quite respond. Cepyme has drawn attention to the sluggishness of the industry's turnover and warns that it will continue in the coming months, as can be seen in the leading indicators that indicate that the decline in new orders is accelerating and its backlog is weakening. For the Confederation, these data show the need to firmly support a strategic sector for the economy as a whole.

On the other hand, employers have highlighted the better performance of services, benefited by the boost given by international tourism, although the growth path of its turnover marks a clear slowdown in a context of significant cost increases.

However, Cepyme has warned that business accounts cannot be used as an "alibi" to tax the company more, raising its costs, while the regulatory framework has continued to become more complex and detrimental to the activity.

For this reason, in scenarios like the current one, Cepyme has stressed that the best revulsive are the structural reforms that boost potential growth and benefit business growth.