Traders’ optimism remained high for the second time in a row. The Business Entrepreneur Confidence Index (Icec) rose 1.4% in January and reached 121.1 points, on a scale ranging from zero to 200.
According to the National Confederation of Trade in Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC), which calculates the indicator, the result is the highest since March 2020, when it reached 128.4 points.
In addition, it is better than what was observed in the same month last year. In December, the index reached 105.8 points. In the annual comparison, the advance is 14.5%. The numbers were released today (25) by CNC.
The survey also showed that all major sub-indices were up. The highlight was Investment Intentions which, with a positive monthly variation of 1.8%, reached 110.6 points, the highest level since January 2014. At that time, it reached 114.6 points. Compared to the same month in 2021, the indicator grew 16.5%.
The item Expectations of Entrepreneurs in Commerce registered the highest score, reaching 152.7 points, with a rise of 1.5% in relation to December of the previous year. In comparison with January of last year, the advance is 7.5%.
Another positive data was the indicator Current Conditions of Business Entrepreneurs, which returned to the satisfaction zone, after reaching 100.1 points. According to CNC, it is the highest level since April 2020, when it reached 105.1 points. In addition, it had its first monthly growth (0.6%), after four consecutive declines. In the annual comparison, it registered the biggest increase (24.4%) among the main sub-indices.
The president of CNC, José Roberto Tadros, said that the research results reflect the advance of vaccination and the consequent relative return to normality, despite the spread of the Ômicron variant.
“Even with the spread of the Ômicron variant, the vaccine has guaranteed a smaller impact of covid-19 on the population, with milder symptoms and a reduction in the mortality rate. economic conditions in the short term,” noted Tadros.
Hiring
Entrepreneurs’ optimism also extended to job creation. The survey showed that in the items that analyze the investment intentions of merchants, the greatest satisfaction referred to Hiring Employees (137.2 points).
The indicator was also the highest monthly growth among those that make up this category (5.0%). The Icec also pointed out that 68.9% of entrepreneurs showed intention to increase hiring. This movement, according to CNC, suggests that the recovery of the labor market should continue.
For the CNC economist responsible for the study, Catarina Carneiro da Silva, it is important to note which category the company is in, as each one is impacted differently by economic movements:
“It is possible to observe that most entrepreneurs are more confident about the economy and specifically about the developments in their own business”.
Also according to CNC, the perception of improvement in the economy appears both in the current conditions of the country and in expectations for the future. The biggest increase relative to the current moment was in the perception of the economy, with an increase of 2.3%, after four months of decline. Among companies, 54.7% indicated that the economy is expected to improve slightly in the future.
icec
According to CNC, Icec is a leading indicator, researched exclusively among decision makers in retail companies. The intention is to verify the trends of the actions of the sector from the point of view of the entrepreneur.
“The sample is composed of approximately six thousand companies located in all the capitals of the country, and the sub-indices, calculated monthly, present dispersions that vary from zero to two hundred points. The Icec assesses current conditions, short-term expectations and investment intentions of businessmen in the commerce”, he informed.
