Despite increase pessimism Pakistani businessmen not considering layoffs: Gallup

• Overall, net positivity fell significantly from negative 26pc to negative 68pc after the outbreak.
• 83pc of business owners reported that they are not considering laying off employees to minimize losses due to coronavirus.

The ongoing economic lockdown due to the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic has negatively affected the business community outlook in Pakistan, revealed a Gallup Pakistan survey.

As per a Gallup Pakistan Survey with business owners in the first quarter of 2020 for the Gallup Business Confidence Index, business owners are increasingly pessimistic about the conditions of their businesses due to the unforeseen impact of coronavirus in Pakistan and the world.

As per Gallup, the survey was conducted in the First Quarter of 2020 with around 500 businesses across Pakistan.

The survey was based on three strands. On all three strands, the value was negative which meant that more businesses posed a lack of confidence in the business situation of Pakistan. The number fell significantly during the current time period eating away some healthy gains made between the last Quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020.

To a question asked for business owners and managers across Pakistan on, current business conditions before and after the COVID-19 outbreak, 36 percent responded that their business is doing good or very good, while 62pc had a negative opinion prior to COVID outbreak.

However, after the Coronavirus outbreak, the percentage of businessmen with a positive view of the current conditions of their business fell to 15pc, indicating a decline of 21pc impact on perceptions of businessmen.

Overall, net positivity fell significantly from negative 26pc to negative 68pc after the outbreak.

Secondly, when asked about the expectations for the future of business, 40pc of the business owners and managers prior to the COVID 19 outbreak was optimistic about the future of their business, which fell slightly to 38pc after the outbreak.

Net expectation about the future of business fell from 9pc in Q4 2019, to a negative 4pc during the initial months of 2020, falling further to negative 9pc after the COVID 19 outbreak.

Thirdly, the survey queried regarding the direction of the country score, the survey said that during the initial months of 2020, there was a slight rise in optimism of business owners about the direction of the country; from 37pc to 39pc.

However, after the COVID 19 outbreak, optimism fell to 30pc. Overall for the first quarter of 2020, 34pc business owners were optimistic about the direction the country is heading in.

The initial months of 2020 saw a rise in the net rating for the direction of the country, from negative 23pc during Oct-Dec 2019, to a negative 16pc. However, a sharp decline to negative 32pc was observed after the COVID-19 outbreak.

In order to understand the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on businesses, business owners were then asked, about the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on their businesses, to which 94pc business owners claimed that coronavirus is a somewhat or very serious problem for their business.

However, good news in the survey was that most businesses in Pakistan are not considering laying off their employees/

83pc of business owners reported that they are not considering laying off employees to minimize losses due to coronavirus, while 17pc said they are considering layoffs.