The September 2025 FAE Managers’ Barometer reveals stability in the priorities of Portuguese managers, consistent with the previous month, as indicated by the document released today.
The international situation remains the primary concern, reflecting ongoing external instability and its impact on the national economy, although it has decreased for the third consecutive month, from 37.8% to 31.5%.
Concerns about government and politics continued on a downward trajectory observed in recent months, falling from 25.2% to 18%.
Among the top concerns are also hiring and talent retention (up from 9% to 15.7%)—which has been increasing since May—legislation and regulation (steady at 9%), and digitalization and technological disruption (from 5.4% to 9%).
Competition and business model have increased from 1.8% to 4.5%.
Issues such as taxes and taxation have slightly decreased from 8% to 7.9%, while interest rates and inflation, corruption, and logistics and supply chains have remained at 1.0%, reflecting a perception of reduced and steady risk.
Optimism decreased again after recovering in the previous month, dropping from 2.84 to 2.3 points.
The indicator has been in negative territory since 2022, mirroring the continued apprehension regarding the global economic environment and its repercussions on the national context, as noted in the barometer.
The Monthly Managers’ Barometer was launched in September 2021 and results from a monthly survey of FAE members about their main concerns for the next 12 months, including their levels of optimism and pessimism, typically receiving 170 to 210 responses.
