Survey reveals diminished optimism among Maltese businesses for 2024

An analysis carried out by big-four audit firm PwC shows that Malta-based businesses are less upbeat about the economy in 2024.

Displaying results for its Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) and Employment Expectation Indicator (EEI), both suggest that optimism is waning as economic uncertainty persists.

The EEI, as the name suggests, tracks overall sentiment in the EU economy and is maintained by the European Commission, while the ESI tracks a weighted average of the employment expectations of managers in industry, services, retail trade and construction, and is also maintained by EU institutions. 

The ESI, which initially surged in September 2023, has seen marked volatility throughout 2024, reflecting the ongoing turbulence in economic confidence. Similarly, the EEI has shown a downward trend, reinforcing the idea that businesses are increasingly cautious about future employment prospects.

This synchronised decline indicates that both economic confidence and employment expectations are being tempered by concerns over economic instability, as price pressures begin to affect consumption behaviour in certain sectors locally. 

However, Malta’s economic performance remains notably strong, as the findings suggest that the country will do better than its fellow European countries in terms of GDP growth. Moreover, inflation in Malta and other European countries is set to moderate from 5.6 per cent in 2023 to 2.3 per cent in 2024.