Businesses are losing confidence due to staff shortages and uncertainty.

According to the results of an Advanter Group study, the business activity index for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in July dropped to 36.1 out of 100. This is among the lowest monthly levels since the full-scale war began. In the study, 41.8% of the 512 respondents described their business as poor or satisfactory, another 31.4% as mediocre, and only 16.8% said their company is in good or excellent financial shape.

A decline in employment was recorded by 44.9% of respondents, while 16.4% saw an increase and 38.7% reported no change in staffing. A significant or critical employee shortage was cited by 73%, which greatly limits their ability to maintain operations, scale production, and respond effectively to economic challenges.

The primary obstacles to growth identified by businesses are: government policy unpredictability (55.5%), lack of solvent demand (53.5%), overall uncertainty about the country’s situation (52.7%), shortage of qualified labor (51.6%), and limited access to capital (39.8%).