Executives at small businesses in Michigan have a positive outlook on the state’s economy and expect their profits to hold steady, according to the June 2016 Michigan Future Business Index released Tuesday.
Only 19 percent of the business executives had a pessimistic outlook on their profits, while more than one third said they expect profits to increase. This is down from the holiday season high of 38 percent.
“Small businesses remain largely positive about their prospects for doing business in Michigan,” Mike Britt, president of Accident Fund Insurance Company of America, said in a statement. “Although projections of growth have slowed since December 2015, overall sales and profits remain strong with little sign of decline.”
SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS
According to the June 2016 Michigan Future Business Index:
- A significant improvement in business leaders’ assessment of the labor pool in Michigan: 51 percent now give it a positive rating of either pretty good (41 percent) or excellent (10 percent).
- The primary challenges to doing business remain finding qualified talent and managing growth. To solve the talent challenge, businesses continue to move existing employees into new roles or train less-qualified new hires.
- The No. 1 reason for small business optimism is growth.
- 68 percent of respondents rate Michigan favorably as a market for their goods and services (53 percent pretty good and 15 percent excellent). That’s up 3 percentage points from June 2015.
- 65 percent say Michigan’s tax system is fair to their business (59 percent mostly fair and 6 percent very fair). That’s up 4 percentage points from June 2015.
To read the full article and view the report visit Crain’s Detroit Business
