Published in the Lehigh Valley Business, by Stacy Wescoe

September 30, 2014

Business leaders in Pennsylvania are more hopeful about the state’s economic outlook and the future than they’ve been in some time, according to the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry.

The chamber has just released the results of its 24th Annual Pennsylvania Economic Survey, which showed that employer confidence is growing.

Of the 652 employers surveyed, 57 percent deemed the state’s business climate was either good or excellent. Also, 77 percent indicated they felt the business climate has improved or remained the same over the last 12 months.

The survey also shows that the labor market is improving, with 23 percent of the employers surveyed stating that they plan to hire new workers in the coming year. Only 4 percent of employers responding to the survey indicated they expect their workforce to decrease over the next 12 months. These results correspond with the state’s recent decline in its unemployment rate, which is now at a five-year low of 5.8 percent.

Other highlights include:

• Thirty-nine percent of employers report increases in sales during the last 12 months, up from 35 percent last year and now the highest percentage in more than five years.

• Twenty percent of employers report making major investments in equipment or machinery during the last year, a small drop from a three-year average of 23 percent from 2011-2013.

• Only 15 percent of employers say they would leave Pennsylvania “if they could,” the lowest percentage in the last decade.

Allentown native Gene Barr, president of the Pennsylvania chamber, said he considered the survey results to be mostly good news.

“But we can’t lose sight of the fact that it’s a cautious optimism, especially when we consider that job creators continue to raise concerns in areas like taxes and health care costs,” Barr said. “This is very much relevant given the calls in Harrisburg for new taxes on employers, which now also includes talks of up to a 60 percent income tax hike.”

Todd Brysiak, spokesman for the chamber, told Lehigh Valley Business that members should look at the survey results as a guide.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” he said. “The state is on the right track and we need to make sure we keep heading in that direction.”

The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry put out the survey in partnership with Elizabethtown College’s Department of Business and the High Center for Family Business. The survey was conducted in August by Susquehanna Polling and Research.

(Stacy Wescoe, "Pa. Chamber survey: Businesses hopeful, more confident," Lehigh Valley Business, 9/30/14)