Photo: Bitkom, ifo
The index for the current business situation rose by 3.6 to 41.8 points, the value of business expectations up to mid-2022 increased by 7.0 to 18.9 points. The resulting cumulative Bitkom–ifo-Digital index improved by 5.4 to 30.0 points compared to the previous month.
The business climate thus returned to the pre-Corona level. “The majority of digital companies can look forward to a very good business situation and an increasing number of orders,” says Achim Berg. The Bitkom President believes that the price-driving supply bottlenecks will soon be a thing of the past, so the growth rate in the digital industry could remain stable throughout the year.
Photo: Bitkom
The signs also point to growth in the labor market. The majority of companies want to hire additional workers in the next three months. Berg expects more than 40,000 new jobs in the digital industry. However, the shortage of skilled workers could slow down the upswing a little.
The digital index is based on the monthly ifo business survey and is formed from the geometric mean of the index of the business situation and the index of business expectations. Data from the digital industry, which consists of companies in the manufacturing, trade and service sectors, is taken into account. These include manufacturers of ICT and UE products, software houses, ICT service providers, specialist dealers and distributors. The survey period was January 5 to 24, 2022.
More about the market:
The supply chain law is a boon for the tech industry
Corona pandemic and shortage of skilled workers
Tech distribution in lockdown times