Economy in the Rems-Murr district: bright spots despite uncertainties!

Economy in the Rems-Murr district: bright spots despite uncertainties!

In the Rems-Murr district, a mixed picture of the economic situation is shown. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) Rems-Murr reports on a cautious trend reversal, which is evident in its latest, tentative recreation signals in its latest economic survey. However, participation in this survey was only carried out by a small part of the local company, which could question the reliability of the results. Despite these positive signs, the uncertainty remains predominant due to the global economic situation, in particular with regard to the high energy and raw material prices and the persistently increasing labor costs. The consumer mood of consumer is relatively good, but expenses are often limited to smaller amounts, which the general situation clouds a bit.

Current survey results show that 43.5% of the companies assess their business as well, while 38.9% are satisfied with their current situation. This represents a slight decline compared to the beginning of the year. 17.6% of the respondents report a bad situation. In the last surveys, the total balance of the economic survey deteriorated by 5.8 points to 25.9. The mood in the construction industry in particular has clouded significantly, while the majority of the industry remains positive. In contrast, expectations have decreased in the trade and service sector. This shows an increasing divergence between the different economic areas.

challenges and risks

Many companies are no longer in acute crisis mode, but are still facing major challenges. In particular, the increasing energy costs and inflationary high tariff degrees put a great impact on the companies. The shortage of skilled workers, which two thirds of the companies see as the greatest risk of economic development, is particularly worrying. The immigration of qualified specialists is criticized as slow and contributes to uncertainty.

The risk assessment of high energy costs has decreased from 71.5% to 55.4%, while concerns about export transactions have increased. Currently, only 34.4% of those surveyed expect increasing exports. 21.1% even expect exports to a decline in exports, which reflects the uncertainties in the global economy. The reasons for the more pessimistic forecasts are geopolitical risks and turbulence at the international financial markets.

Investment climate and the future outlook

The investment climate remains behavior. Only 32.1% of companies plan to increase their expenses. The main motifs for investments are replacement needs (64.7%), digitization (61.4%) and environmental protection (37.7%). IHK President Paal therefore calls for clear legal and political framework for investments in climate protection and energy efficiency to strengthen the trust of companies.

The latest data from the economic barometer of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) illustrate that the German economy stagnated in the third year in a row. Nevertheless, moderate growth of 1.1 percent is expected for 2026. The current state of the barometer is 90.1 points, which represents an increase of over seven points compared to the previous month, but remains below the neutral 100-point mark. This Markte indicates average economic growth, which is not achieved in the current situation.

Overall, the economic situation in the Rems-Murr district is a mixture of slight shimmer of hope and persistent challenges. With the global uncertainty, high costs and a shortage of skilled workers, it remains to be seen how the situation will develop in the coming months and what measures the companies take to deal with the challenges.