Business owners in ECCU optimistic

Business owners in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) have a positive outlook for economic conditions in construction, manufacturing and the tourism industry for the first six months of 2015.{{more}}

That was revealed in the results of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank’s Business Outlook Survey (BOS), which the ECCB conducted in conjunction with the Central Statistical Offices and other consultants in the eight ECCU countries. Approximately 97.0 per cent of the 200 businesses across a variety of sectors responded to the survey.

The Business Outlook Survey is conducted semi-annually. It captures the opinions of business owners in the ECCU countries in respect of the current and expected state of their business operations, as well as the economies in which they operate.

According to the survey results, business owners in the ECCU have a positive outlook with respect to the economic conditions in construction, manufacturing and the tourism industry. However, businesses were pessimistic with regard to developments in communications, banks, insurances and other financial institutions, agriculture, wholesale and retail trade, and quarrying.

The business owners who participated in the survey provided information on the direction of change in two main areas: individual business performance and the general economic conditions. They also provided their opinion on changes in key areas of business activity, such as employment, sales, and prices of goods and services.

The results from the BOS will help the ECCB to make policies that will facilitate economic development of the region. ECCU member governments can also use the information from the survey to understand the views of the business community with respect to their challenges and expectations of government policies. The survey also allows business owners operating within the ECCU to get a sense of the economic climate throughout the region.