27 May 2020
2020- n° 126In May 2020, the French business climate is a little less deteriorated, as well as
the employment climate Business climate indicator and turning point indicator - May 2020
In May 2020, the business climate has recovered somewhat, in connection with the lockdown exit started on 11 May. The indicator that synthesizes it, calculated from the responses of business leaders from the main market sectors, has gained six points. At 59, however, it remains at a particularly low level.
Due to the context of the fight against the propagation of COVID-19, statistics published in this Informations Rapides issue could be less accurate than usual. Companies’ responses were collected between 28 April and 19 May 2020, to a large extent during general lockdown, and solely online. Consequently, the response rate is lower this month than usual. In addition, for the data for April and May, the method to correct non-response has been modified compared to the usual method which reproduces past responses from non-responding companies. We have considered that the non-responding units in April or May would have responded as the average of the responding units of the elementary stratum to which they belong. This may cause substantial downward revisions from the April data previously sent last month.
The French business climate has recovered while remaining at a very low level
In May 2020, the business climate has recovered somewhat, in connection with the lockdown exit started on 11 May. The indicator that synthesizes it, calculated from the responses of business leaders from the main market sectors, has gained six points. At 59, however, it remains at a particularly low level.
The employment climate is a little less deteriorated
In May 2020, the employment climate has improved a little. The composite indicator has risen by 4 points, after losing 48 points in April. At 52, it remains very deteriorated, standing at its second lowest level after the record low reached last month.
Revisions
The downward revisions in the composite indicators of April 2020 are mainly explained by the change in the method of correcting non-response (see Warning). The business climate in France of April 2020 has thus been revised downwards by 9 points. The sectoral business climates of April 2020 have also been revised downwards: by 14 points for industry as for services and by 7 points for retail trade. Bi-monthly, the business climate in wholesale trade in March 2020 has been lowered by 2 points. The employment climate for April 2020 has been revised downwards by 22 points.
For further information
The business climate and turning point indicators summarise the information provided by the surveys in manufacturing, services, trade (retail and wholesale), and construction. The business climate is built from 26 balances of opinion from these surveys while the turning point indicator is built from 14 balances of opinion from surveys in manufacturing, services and construction. The employment indicator is based on the 10 balances of employment, past and expected, from the surveys in manufacturing, services, retail trade and construction.
The balances of opinion concerning employment in services that are used in the employment climate distinguish the services excluding temporary work employment sector from temporary work agencies. For the latter, the balances on past and expected workforce size are not weighted, unlike the other sectors.
Next issue: 24 June 2020 at 08:45 am
Documentation
Abbreviated Methodology (pdf,130 Ko)
Pour en savoir plus
The business climate and turning point indicators summarise the information provided by the surveys in manufacturing, services, trade (retail and wholesale), and construction. The business climate is built from 26 balances of opinion from these surveys while the turning point indicator is built from 14 balances of opinion from surveys in manufacturing, services and construction. The employment indicator is based on the 10 balances of employment, past and expected, from the surveys in manufacturing, services, retail trade and construction.
The balances of opinion concerning employment in services that are used in the employment climate distinguish the services excluding temporary work employment sector from temporary work agencies. For the latter, the balances on past and expected workforce size are not weighted, unlike the other sectors.
Next issue: 24 June 2020 at 08:45 am
