US tariffs unsettle companies
At the end of the 2nd quarter of 2025, the majority of Liechtenstein's industrial and service companies rated the general situation as satisfactory. The business situation and headcount remained largely stable in the second quarter of 2025. In contrast, profitability has deteriorated.
Insufficient demand (20%) continues to be cited as the most common obstacle to production and performance, closely followed by a shortage of labor (17%). Uncertainty due to US tariffs is also explicitly mentioned several times. As in the 1st quarter, 44% of the industrial and service companies surveyed reported that they had not encountered any obstacles in the 2nd quarter of 2025. Within the service sector, however, the lack of labor is more widespread as an obstacle to performance, affecting 31%. Insufficient demand is cited as an obstacle by 22% of companies. In the industrial sector, 18% are confronted with insufficient demand and only 1% with a shortage of workers.
For the third quarter of 2025, industrial and service companies expect the business situation to remain largely stable and the number of employees to remain the same. Profitability, on the other hand, is forecast to decline. The industrial and service companies are largely in agreement in their forecast. However, industrial companies in particular are anticipating a decline in headcount, while service companies expect profitability to deteriorate. Within industry, there are different trends in the forecasts. While the majority of the metal and non-metal industries expect stable development, the construction industry is optimistic about the future. There are also differentiated forecasts within the service companies. Insurance companies in particular are expecting a positive trend in the third quarter of 2025, while companies in the retail trade and general services sectors are hardly expecting any changes. The banking sector, on the other hand, is particularly pessimistic about the third quarter of 2025.