As the global economy slumps, small-sized enterprises are the ones that suffer the most, writes Rzeczpospolita.

A survey carried out by the Ministry of Economy shows that every fourth such company in Poland closed the first half of the year in the red.

“Small firms have the least room for maneuver when it comes to cost reduction. Each drop in the number of orders hits them very hard. Large-sized enterprises find it easier to reduce margins or find market niches,” commented Prof. Maria Drozdowicz-Bieć from the Warsaw School of Economics.

Positive sentiment among small business owners is also low. Only one in seven entrepreneurs expects that his or her company’s profits will be higher in the second half of 2012 than in the first six months of the year.

Poland A.M.