The business activity index of Ukrainian enterprises dropped to 36.8 points out of a possible 100 in December 2025, which is one and a half points lower than in September. This indicates a decline in confidence among entrepreneurs and an increase in pessimistic sentiments in the market.
This is reported by Business • Media
Assessments of Financial Condition of Enterprises and Labor Market Trends
Survey results showed that more than half of the respondents – 50.7% – assess the financial and economic condition of their companies as poor or satisfactory. Another 31.9% characterize it as mediocre, and only 17.4% consider the situation positive or excellent. Regarding future forecasts: 29.3% expect improvement, 37.3% predict stability, while 33.3% fear further deterioration.
The situation with personnel remains relatively stable; however, on average, the number of employees in companies has decreased by 7.6% over the year. Staff reductions occurred in 39.5% of enterprises, while 15.9% of companies, on the contrary, increased their workforce.
Production Load and Major Challenges for Business
The average level of production capacity utilization is 64.8%. Only 16.9% of companies are fully loaded, while 10.7% are forced to operate at a critically low level of utilization – less than 25%.
The main obstacles to business development are unpredictability of government policy (62.7%); overall uncertainty regarding the situation in the country (59.1%); lack of solvent demand (54.7%); shortage of qualified labor (46%); high tax burden (40.9%).
These obstacles significantly impact the plans of enterprises and their investment activity, forcing businesses to seek new ways to adapt to changing market conditions.