Many businesses plan to continue cutting their workforce over the remainder of 2023 amid prolonged difficulties and challenges.

A survey of over 9,500 enterprises in April by the Board for Private Economic Development Research showed that businesses are experiencing very difficult circumstances.

Around 82.3 per cent of surveyed enterprises plan to downsize their business size, temporarily suspend operations, or cease operations over the remaining months of the year.

Among businesses that continued operating in 2023, some 71.2 per cent plan to cut their workers by 5 per cent while 22.2 per cent plan to cut more than half of their workers.

The survey also showed that 80.7 per cent of enterprises have predicted their income will fall by 5 per cent, while 29.4 per cent said revenue is likely to fall by half.

Major difficulties and challenges facing businesses are related to a lack of orders, problematic access to credit, and difficult administrative procedures.