BERLIN, Oct 26 Reuters German companies see numerous risks to business at the moment including economic policy, high energy and raw materials prices, a lack of skilled workers and weak domestic demand, the DIHK Chambers of Commerce and Industry said on Thursday.

A DIHK poll of more than 24,000 companies conducted between Sept. 11 and Oct. 6 showed that of those surveyed, 51 see current economic policy as a problem for their own development.

This shows that the government has to act quickly and in a practical way, said DIHK Managing Director Martin Wansleben at the presentation of the DIHK business survey.

We don39;t have an economic situation at the moment where we say that if things go down, they will automatically go up again, Wansleben said. The economy is so burdened by structural challenges that we have to do everything we can to ensure that the economy improves again.

The German economy has been struggling since the end of 2022. In addition to poor economic conditions there are structural and permanent challenges such as demographic changes, climate change and high energy prices.

According to the survey, only 13 of companies expect business to improve in the next 12 months, while 35 expect a deterioration.

So far, we see no signs of a selfsustaining upswing, said Wansleben. On the contrary, companies have revised downwards both their investment plans and their employment intentions.

The DIHK forecasts a 0.5 contraction in gross domestic product in 2023,…