PRESS RELEASE Survey on the Access to Finance of Enterprises in the euro area: small businesses continue to report declines in turnover and profits, but activity expected to improve 1 June 2021 Availability of external finance improved marginally, but not for the smallest firms Recruiting skilled employees and finding customers are main concerns For the period from October 2020 to March 2021 , small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the euro area reported a further deterioration in their turnover and profits, reflecting the weakness of economic activity, albeit less so than in the first wave of the pandemic (with net percentages of -29% (up from -46%) for turnover and -35% (up from -47%) for profits).