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Nearly 63% of the surveyed Bulgarian companies expect an improved economic climate in 2018 and almost half of them predict higher sales abroad. The data are from a survey of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) comprising 602 companies from all sectors. The survey was conducted as part of the European Business Economics Survey – EES 2018, made for the 25th year in a row among 50,000 companies in 23 European countries.<\/span><\/p>\nThe survey includes companies\u2019 expectations in terms of 4 indicators – export and internal demand revenue, employment, investment and common business climate. They all have enhanced positive expectations for 2018, compared to 2017:<\/span><\/p>\n The main concerns of the companies include finding specialists with appropriate profiles. Given the expectations of the business for an increased demand in 2018, both in foreign markets and in the country, employers are worried that they will not be able to keep pace with the growth, bearing in mind the difficulties they encounter in finding enough and suitably qualified personnel. Qualified staff is the main concern for 60% of employers.<\/span><\/p>\n The second largest concern of the companies (42%) is the uncertainty of the domestic demand, which is becoming more and more important for the growth of the Bulgarian economy.<\/span><\/p>\n The results from the survey for Europe are quite similar. Among all 50,000 companies, a total of 53% consider the domestic demand as the first problem, followed by the lack of skilled labor force (46% of the respondents). Both in Bulgaria and Europe, the business places Brexit last as a factor that will affect business results the least in 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Full data from both surveys can be found on the BCCI website here\u00a0<\/span>http:\/\/www.bcci.bg\/resources\/files\/EES_2018.pdf<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n