Stats: Businessmen and Consumers Concerned about Economic Development in January

Bratislava, 29 January (TASR) - Slovak entrepreneurs and consumers expressed concerns about the upcoming development of the Slovak economy in January, with the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) falling by 4.5 points from December 2025 to stand at 97.4, the Statistics Office reported on Thursday. The overall figure was 4.5 points less optimistic than in the same period of last year, and it was 8.3 points below the long-term average. Sentiment deteriorated across all monitored sectors, most notably in construction and services. However, it also worsened in industry, trade, and among consumers. After seasonal adjustments, the confidence indicator in industry decreased by 4 points to -0.3 in January, mainly as a result of drop in expected production and growth in stocks of finished products. The seasonally adjusted confidence indicator in services declined by 5 points to -1.7, with worsening posted in two of its three components, particularly evaluations of business situation and expected demand. Meanwhile, the confidence indicator in trade decreased by 3 points from December to stand at 7.3. The respondents evaluated negatively a decrease in business activities over the past three months, chiefly in the repair and maintenance of motor vehicles. They were also more pessimistic regarding expected business activities. The confidence indicator in construction declined by 6 points to -6.5 in January under the influence of more pessimistic evaluations regarding the overall level of orders and expected employment. The consumer atmosphere in Slovakia worsened to the lowest figure seen in the past three years (since March 2023) in January. The seasonally adjusted indicator went down by 4.3 points from December to -26.7 and was 6.6 points below the long-term average. Consumers were more pessimistic in all four components of the indicator. They were mainly concerned about the development of unemployment. Consumers also took a more pessimistic view of the development of their savings, while their concerns about the upcoming overall economic situation and the overall financial situation deepened. ko