Business Sentiment - November 2011

The Ibec business sentiment series has been conducted quarterly since February 2009. Over 400 responses are analysed in each quarterly survey, and the data collected provides valuable insight into Ibec member sentiment both on individual businesses and on the economy generally. The results for November 2011 are contained in this section.

Business Sentiment November 2011 - Pay

21/12/2011 - Over three quarters of respondent companies (76%) expected, or had already implemented a pay freeze in 2011. Basic pay rates, on average, were expected to be slightly reduced in 2011, down by -0.2% across all respondents. Some 15% had already increased or expected to increase basic pay rates in 2011, while 7% expected basic pay rates to decrease.

Business Sentiment November 2011 - Sentiment

21/12/2011 - Managers’ assessment of the overall business environment in Ireland fell sharply in Q4 2011 to -28 from -13 in the previous quarter. This is the most negative assessment since the end of 2010. Confidence in the outlook for the coming three-month period also fell sharply to -29 from -11 in the previous quarter.