Survey: Businesses upbeat, but = not necessarily about jobs

From: Subject: Survey: Businesses upbeat, but not necessarily about jobs Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:58:36 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; type="text/html"; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0000_01CB3A2E.D74E2340" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.5579 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0000_01CB3A2E.D74E2340 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.candgnews.com/Homepage-Articles/2010/08-11-10/Businesses-survey.asp Survey: Businesses upbeat, but = not necessarily about jobs

=

Survey: Businesses
upbeat, but=20 not
necessarily
about jobs=20

By Cortney Casey
C & G Staff Writer

MACOMB COUNTY =97 Macomb County business owners are = feeling more=20 optimistic about the future, but they remain hesitant about=20 translating that sentiment to new investments or = positions.

So say the recently released results of the Macomb = Business=20 Climate Survey, conducted in early June by Oakland = University in=20 conjunction with the Macomb Chamber Alliance and the Macomb = County=20 Department of Planning and Economic Development. It was the = second=20 such survey performed this year; the initial round was = conducted in=20 January.

Albert Lorenzo and Julianne Leigh of OU presented the = latest=20 findings during a July 29 session hosted by the Sterling = Heights=20 Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry and attended by=20 representatives from the county and multiple local chambers = and=20 educational institutions.

The web-based questionnaire was developed, said Lorenzo, = to=20 address the question, =93Can we get a better handle on what = businesses=20 are currently thinking in Macomb County?=94

While anecdotal accounts of the prevailing business = climate=20 abound, researchers wanted a more concrete way to evaluate = business=20 leaders=92 outlook, he said.

Out of the 465 respondents, 47 percent stated they = anticipated=20 general business conditions would be better in six months = than they=20 are currently, up from 32.7 percent who expressed similar = sentiments=20 in January.

More than a third =97 38.5 percent =97 projected = conditions=20 would remain the same, and 14.5 percent feared they would = worsen.=20 That=92s compared to the 44 percent that expected the status = quo and=20 23.4 percent that anticipated declines when surveyed earlier = this=20 year.

In terms of their particular businesses, an even higher=20 percentage, 47.6 percent, forecasted an improvement in = conditions=20 six months from now. By contrast, 39.6 percent believed that = would=20 be the case mid-year when responding in January.

More business leaders than earlier this year anticipated=20 increases in selling prices six months from now, though the=20 majority, 65.7 percent, felt they=92d remain static. More = than 46=20 percent of respondents said they believe their businesses=92 = bottom=20 lines will have increased at year-end.

But that hopeful attitude didn=92t extend to jobs. Just = over 25=20 percent of respondents said they planned to add employees in = six=20 months, while 53.2 percent indicated they=92d maintain their = current=20 staffing levels and 12.6 percent foresaw their ranks = decreasing.=20

In a tally of topics concerning businesses, the overall = economy=20 ranked highest, followed by government =97 taxes, = regulation,=20 leadership, attitude and poor practices =97 and credit = availability,=20 which appears to be a deepening concern.

About 62 percent of respondents indicated they consider = business=20 loans and credit lines more difficult to obtain today than = six=20 months ago, and 32 percent believe it they=92ll be even = harder to snag=20 by the end of year.

While making predictions a year or more out is difficult, = Lorenzo=20 said, he considers the survey a valid forecasting tool for = the short=20 term.

=93What (respondents) projected six months ago is very = consistent=20 with what they reported six months later,=94 he said.

If the second Business Climate Survey is as precise an = indicator=20 as the first, the second half of 2010 will see improved = business=20 conditions and sales volumes, he said.

However, =93one in six organizations expects continued = downward=20 pressure on their bottom line, with the heaviest downward = pressure=20 appearing among municipal and nonprofit respondents,=94 the = analysis=20 states. Employment and pay levels are not likely to rise, = and fringe=20 benefits will probably continue to slide.

Donald Torline, president of Baker College, said he = wasn=92t=20 surprised that businesses expressed optimism while shying = away from=20 predicting hiring strides.

=93It=92s not uncommon for businesses and business owners = and=20 entrepreneurs to be positive,=94 he said. =93You don=92t get = into business=20 to think you=92re going to go out of business. You get into = business =97=20 no matter what, you=92re going to fight your way through. = But I do=20 believe that the uncertainty that=92s out there right now is = the=20 reason the businesses are holding the way that they=92re = holding.=94

Survey administrators=92 recommendations, based on the = results,=20 included continuing to focus on unemployment benefits and = programs=20 to address the lack of job gains; addressing local = businesses=92=20 borrowing needs; and practicing =93economic gardening=94=20 =97 cultivating existing businesses, not just = soliciting new=20 ones.

They also suggested government leaders and private firms=20 collaborate to help small and mid-sized companies interpret=20 convoluted federal regulations and programs.

=93We would like to have a document that would help shape = policy=20 regarding businesses in Macomb County,=94 said Lorenzo. =93A = lot of this=20 isn=92t going to do any good if public policy doesn=92t = support some of=20 what is said in here. That has been a chronic problem in = Macomb: How=20 you move from insight to action.=94

Lorenzo said OU would be willing to repeat the process in = six=20 months, though he recommended eventually segueing to an = annual=20 version.

Jim Jacobs, an economist and president of Macomb = Community=20 College, said he viewed the study as an opportunity.

=93I think it=92s grounds for some optimism, and it=92s = also grounds=20 for some action,=94 he said. =93I really think these are the = kind of=20 things that bring us together at the county. So we=92d be = definitely=20 in favor of doing it every six months.=94

To read the survey, visit http://www.shrcci.com/ = and click=20 on News and Resources, then Member News.

You can reach Staff Writer Cortney Casey at ccasey@candgnews.com or at=20 (586) 498-1046.

Copyright =A9 2008 C = & G=20 Publishing
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