(February, 2010)
In an attempt to provide timely information about the state of economic activity in Egypt, ECES published the first issue of the Industrial Barometer in 1998. The periodical reported the results of a biannual survey of 165 firms fully drawn from the industrial sector. However, to improve the depth of the report, the survey was expanded in the July 2000 issue to include 35 firms from the construction sector. This step converted the former Industrial Barometer into today’s Business Barometer. The survey was further expanded in the July 2002 issue to include 10 firms from the tourism sector. In July 2006, the survey was expanded again to include a total of 320 firms (from 210). In July 2007, another 154 firms were added to the sample. These firms cover the transportation, communications and financial sectors. The new sample includes a total of 474 firms. In addition, a few questions were added to the survey questionnaire regarding the geographic distribution of exports, employment categories, prices of different inputs and types of investments. Starting the previous edition, the Business Barometer includes two indices designed to summarize firms’ evaluation and expectations for four successive periods. For detailed information about the sample, questionnaire and calculating the BB indices, visit the ECES website (www.eces.org.eg) under Business Barometer.
This edition of the Business Barometer reports the results of a stratified sample of 474 public and private firms. The survey covers their assessment of economic growth and the results of their operations in terms of production, sales, inventories, prices, wages, employment and investments over the last six months of 2009. It also summarizes their expectations for overall future economic performance as well as their own activities for the first half of 2010.