One in five self-employed in Germany fear for livelihood, survey finds

One in five self-employed people in Germany are concerned about their financial livelihood, a survey by the Munich-based ifo Institute revealed.

The institute said 20.6% of self-employed people were worried about the survival of their business in April, compared to just 8.1% of companies surveyed across the entire economy. 

"The combination of a lack of orders and growing uncertainty is putting an increasing strain on the self-employed," said ifo expert Katrin Demmelhuber.

Just under half (48.4%) of the self-employed individuals and micro-enterprises with fewer than nine employees surveyed reported a lack of orders in April. 

This means their situation has deteriorated slightly since the January survey (46.6%).

According to survey, the business climate has deteriorated significantly: after standing at -20.8 points in March, the index stood at a record low of -29.9 points in April. 

The survey results showed assessments of the current situation and future expectations also declined significantly.