October 26 (BTA) - One in three (32.2 per cent) non-financial enterprises which took part in a business survey conducted by the National Statistical Institute said their September sales of goods and services decreased from August, while 17.8 per cent saw an increase. A total of 49.5 per cent said there was no change from August.

A breakdown by economic sector shows that 37.1 per cent of the non-financial enterprises in construction saw a decrease in sales (compared to 34.3 per cent for the industry as a whole). In arts, entertainment and recreation, repair of household goods and other services, 35.4 per cent of respondents reported a decrease in sales. The respective share for wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; food service activities is 30.9 per cent.

As to employees, 17.1 per cent of the non-financial enterprises said they resorted to paid leave to mitigate the impact of the state of emergency and the epidemic situation, followed by unpaid leave (10.0 per cent) , lay-offs (9.1 per cent) and government subsidies (8.3 per cent).

Asked about their expectations for the next month, 95.1 per cent of the non-financial enterprises said they expected to be able to continue their current activity, 1.9 per cent expected to suspend their activity for a while, and 2.2 per cent expected to close down. NV/DD
//