Macomb Business Climate Survey offers a positive economic forecast

A recent survey of more than 500 Macomb County area businesses revealed that more business owners and managers are feeling upbeat about the Macomb County economy.

Data from the 2011 Macomb Business Climate Survey indicates that 82 percent of respondents feel that business conditions are as good as or better now than they were a year ago. Positive momentum is expected to grow, as evidenced by 88.9 percent of respondents anticipating as good as or better conditions in the coming year. In addition, more than half of Macomb Area businesses expect their particular business conditions to be better in 2012.

The survey asked owners and managers of widely varied businesses to forecast and provide feedback on topics such as expected revenues, employment growth, rates of compensation and their bottom lines. The survey also tracked the trends in responses by comparing the results with previous surveys.

Data collected in the survey will be used to provide public and private sector decision makers with information valuable in planning and policy development.

Survey results may also point to good news for area residents looking for work. More than a third of Macomb County area businesses are expecting to hire in 2012. The majority of positions will be new rather than recalls from layoffs. Also good news for workers is the fact that more businesses are predicting higher rates of pay for employees.

Of the firms looking to hire, one in five reported a difficulty in finding applicants with the right skill sets. This was especially true for manufacturing firms looking to hire for positions requiring specialized skills rather than college degrees.

A full report on the data will be complete and available to the public in January. This is the fourth time the survey has been completed. The most recent previous survey was completed in December 2010.

The Macomb Business Climate Survey is conducted and compiled by Oakland University in collaboration with the Macomb Chamber Alliance, Leadership Macomb and the Macomb County Department of Planning & Economic Development.