CAPTION: As the skilled crafts sector is booming the skilled crafts association of Germany lifted its growth forecast by 5 per cent. (picture alliance/Corinna Schwanhold/dpa/archive)
Germany's skilled crafts association (ZDH) lifted its growth forecast for the year to 5 per cent, in a Tuesday report that revised upwards a prediction of just 3 per cent issued half a year ago.
The sector is benefiting from increased investment by companies and high-utilization levels of production capacities, the ZDH said. It also pointed to increased construction, in particular in home-building.
Germany's improved financial position is allowing municipalities to invest in infrastructure, the report said.
ZDH general secretary Holger Schwannecke said firms in the sector saw the current business situation as improved for the fourth time in a row, according to the survey.
Looking ahead, the sector is predicting stabilization rather than a continuation of the growth pattern, with less than a quarter of companies foreseeing further improvement.
The ZDH predicted that 30,000 staff would be taken on over the course of 2018, with around 20 per cent of firms taking on new employees.
Companies were now frequently operating at the limits of their capacity, with shortages of staff showing and waiting times for customers lengthening.
"The latter in particular is an unsatisfactory situation for workshops and companies in skilled crafts," the report said.
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