Although 44.1% of top Dominican executives and business owners believe that the country’s economic situation will improve next year, hopes for a reduction in the unemployment rate seem to be negative, salary increases will be slight and the exchange rate will go up. According to the results of the Third Business Barometer, a survey carried out by the Deloitte firm in the Dominican Republic, 39.8% think that the economic situation will continue the same and only 16.1% feel it will get worse.
Regarding how the business community perceives the country’s economic situation compared to 2012, some 43% say that it is similar, 23.7% believe it has been better and 33.3% suggest it has gotten worse. Similarly, some 47.2% described the current business climate as “fair”, 34.4% said it was good and 12.9% said it was bad. In terms of the projected inflation rate for 2014, 33.3% were of the opinion that it would swing between 4% and 5%; another 25.3% said it would be between 6% and 7%, while 23% suggested that it would close between 5% and 6%. Regarding the close of this year, 40.2% felt that inflation would be between 5% and 6% and 30.4% expect it to be between 4% and 5%.