Economic Survey Results
October 29, 2009

Hi, I’m Gene Barr, vice president of the Pennsylvania Chamber. Welcome to this month’s Pennsylvania Chamber Minute.

For the past 19 years, the Chamber has surveyed businesses across the state to gauge their opinions of the current economy, outlook for the future, obstacles to competitiveness, and proposed legislation under consideration in the General Assembly.

This survey provides invaluable direction to the Chamber’s advocacy efforts on your behalf.

I’d like to share with you some of the highlights of this year’s survey.
It came as no surprise that the recent economic downturn has had a tremendous impact on business growth.

Sales estimates, workforce numbers and investment levels for the previous year and for the coming year were the lowest on record of the survey, indicating that the recovery that we hope is starting to occur may not be quick or robust.

More than one in three employers ranked the economy as the single most important problem affecting their business today. This is a striking statistic considering last year, only seven percent of respondents cited the economy as a concern, and in 2007, it didn’t even make the list.

The survey results also reinforce the PA Chamber’s role in the ongoing health-care reform debate at the federal level and the fight to stop potential new union organizing rules that would unfairly tip the scales in favor of Big Labor.

An astounding 93 percent of respondents said health-care costs are a deterrent to job creation and business growth, with 73 percent of that amount calling these costs a major deterrent.

And 66 percent oppose the deceptively titled Employee Free Choice Act and its job-killing binding arbitration provisions.

More results are available on the Chamber’s website. I encourage you to take a look.

On a final note, Pennsylvania employers continue to view the Commonwealth’s job-friendliness as average at best, a designation that has gone relatively unchanged in recent years thanks to Pennsylvania’s dismal tax structure and lackluster overall business climate.

Reversing this trend and continuing to move the Commonwealth forward remains a priority for the PA Chamber. This is why your input and membership is so crucial.

Thank you for your continued support. And thank you for spending a minute of your time with the Pennsylvania Chamber…The Statewide Voice of Business.