According to the latest report from the UIA Studies Center, industrial production experienced a record decline after the huge devaluation of the official exchange rate, and employment plummeted by 14% in January. This marks the most significant drop since the series began.
During the final days of December, the government-controlled exchange rate increased by 140%, resulting in a monthly inflation level of 25% in January and February.
In January, production stood at 29.9%, the lowest level in the series, experiencing a 6.9 percentage point decrease compared to the same month last year.
The Industrial Performance Monitor (MDI index) continued to indicate contraction levels below 50% for the seventh consecutive survey.
In the first month of the year, both production and sales recorded their lowest levels in the series, indicating a worsening of difficulties in the industrial production network, particularly impacting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Furthermore, the decline in production and sales led to more companies experiencing difficulties in meeting their payments.
As a result of the decline in production and sales, the employment series also marked a negative trend, which had been mostly stable until now, with a 21% plunge in employment among surveyed companies.
For the second consecutive month, more companies reduced their employment levels (21%) than those that increased them (7%). “The difference widened, indicating a change in trend,” noted the UIA report.
The diffusion index, the percentage of companies with increases minus those experiencing declines, stood at -14.3 percentage points, reaching its minimum value.
However, the outlook for next year is more optimistic. “Approximately 50% of the companies expect the economic situation of their company, sector, and country to improve.”
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