Release Date: 06/ 01/ 2005
CONTACT: Vickie Agler, (303) 860-1778, or Nancy St. Pierre, (214) 614-3008
DENVER, June 1, 2005 – Results of the May National Federation of Independent Business/Colorado Small-Business ConditionsSM report reflect the tepid nature of the state’s economy, as small-business owners report little change in business conditions or in the outlook for their business.
“The NFIB/Colorado Small-Business Conditions report tells us that Colorado small-business owners are peeking around the corner to see what’s next, but are not yet ready to turn the corner into new ventures or business expansion,” said Vickie Agler, NFIB/Colorado state director. “We’re cautiously optimistic. Our recent General Assembly session was tough, with many threats to the business community thwarted. Now that the legislative session has concluded, it will be interesting to see how small-business owners respond during the upcoming quarter.”
A net 39 percent of Colorado’s small-business owners believed business conditions in the state are good. However, this middling evaluation by small-business owners among the 26 states included in the survey reflected Colorado’s comparative economy. In contrast, a net 60 percent of Arizona small-business owners said their business conditions were good while a net 30 percent of Oregon small employers felt positive about their state’s business conditions.
Profits, which lead to investment and new jobs, did not fare well over the last three months. A net 21 percent of small-business owners said their net percent profits were “good” in May versus 29 percent in February.
For nearly two decades, small-business owners have cited the rising cost of health-care insurance as their top concern. As part of the second, quarterly Small-Business Conditions report, Colorado small employers again said that employee health insurance is the business insurance that has had the most rapidly rising premiums over the past year.
The Small-Business Conditions reports are developed from surveys of small-business owners in selected states. The surveys are designed to determine the condition of the small-business economy in each particular state. The surveys are conducted every three months and results are released on the first day of the month following completion. The text of the questions and the complete response set to the survey can be found at www.NFIB.com/research.
| Colorado Small-Business ConditionsSM | ||||||
| This chart shows the results from Colorado and its comparative standing among selected states in the region. | ||||||
| Colo. | Ariz. | Mo. | Ore. | |||
| Business Climate | Survey Date | |||||
| Overall state business environment | ||||||
| Net % supportive of small business | 5/2005 | 32 | 32 | 29 | 20 | |
| Prior qtr. | 35 | 32 | 30 | 29 | ||
| Business conditions in market area | ||||||
| Net % "good" | 5/2005 | 39 | 60 | 43 | 30 | |
| Prior qtr. | 41 | 59 | 43 | 39 | ||
| Net % "improving" | 5/2005 | 23 | 29 | 15 | 20 | |
| Prior qtr. | 27 | 35 | 21 | 23 | ||
| Outlook for business | ||||||
| Net % "good" in next three months | 5/2005 | 61 | 68 | 62 | 64 | |
| Prior qtr. | 68 | 79 | 70 | 66 | ||
| Reason for optimism | ||||||
| % Sales prospects | 5/2005 | 39 | 46 | 42 | 36 | |
| Prior qtr. | 43 | 56 | 50 | 37 | ||
| % Lower costs | 5/2005 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| Prior qtr. | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| % Price increases | 5/2005 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | |
| Prior qtr. | 5 | 3 | 4 | 6 | ||
| % Greater productivity | 5/2005 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 16 | |
| Prior qtr. | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 | ||
| % Government policy | 5/2005 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | |
| Prior qtr. | 4 | 4 | 5 | 2 | ||
| % Seasonal/Weather | 5/2005 | 15 | 9 | 13 | 17 | |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | ||
| Reason for pessimism | ||||||
| % Sales prospects | 5/2005 | IC* | IC | IC | IC | |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | ||
| % Cost increases | 5/2005 | IC | IC | IC | IC | |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | ||
| % Pressure on selling prices | 5/2005 | IC | IC | IC | IC | |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | ||
| % Lower productivity | 5/2005 | IC | IC | IC | IC | |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | ||
| % Government policies | 5/2005 | IC | IC | IC | IC | |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | ||
| Colo. | Ariz. | Mo. | Ore. | |||
| Sales and earnings (last quarter) | ||||||
| Sales | ||||||
| Net % sales "good" | 5/2005 | 39 | 61 | 45 | 45 | |
| Prior qtr. | 38 | 55 | 39 | 48 | ||
| Profits | ||||||
| Net % profits "good" | 5/2005 | 21 | 41 | 24 | 21 | |
| Prior qtr. | 29 | 37 | 23 | 28 | ||
| Employment | ||||||
| Current job openings (one or more) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 20 | 22 | 19 | 18 | |
| Prior qtr. | 16 | 26 | 17 | 15 | ||
| Per employee payroll cost | ||||||
| Net % "risen" | 5/2005 | 14 | 19 | 16 | 20 | |
| Prior qtr. | 13 | 22 | 25 | 16 | ||
| Employee cost pressures (greater) | ||||||
| % Wages | 5/2005 | 53 | 54 | 54 | 56 | |
| Prior qtr. | 57 | 53 | 59 | 55 | ||
| % Benefits | 5/2005 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 20 | |
| Prior qtr. | 27 | 28 | 29 | 24 | ||
| Colo. | Ariz. | Mo. | Ore. | |||
| Productivity | ||||||
| Upgraded technology/processes (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 47 | 48 | 46 | 43 | |
| Prior qtr. | 45 | 50 | 39 | 43 | ||
| Made capital expenditure(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 43 | 41 | 43 | 41 | |
| Prior qtr. | 44 | 53 | 44 | 48 | ||
| Made expenditure to train employee(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 45 | 39 | 35 | 40 | |
| Prior qtr. | 40 | 47 | 38 | 42 | ||
| Capacity utilization - can increase sales 10% without new inputs | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 53 | 52 | 49 | 57 | |
| Prior qtr. | 58 | 59 | 55 | 54 | ||
| Credit availability (last three months) | ||||||
| % All credit needs satisfied | 5/2005 | 39 | 38 | 41 | 36 | |
| Prior qtr. | 39 | 33 | 38 | 39 | ||
| % All credit needs not satisfied | 5/2005 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | |
| Prior qtr. | 4 | 10 | 6 | 3 | ||
| % No credit needs | 5/2005 | 49 | 47 | 45 | 51 | |
| Prior qtr. | 52 | 53 | 53 | 51 | ||
| Colo. | Ariz. | Mo. | Ore. | |||
| Prices | ||||||
| Purchasing prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 5/2005 | 34 | 57 | 53 | 62 | |
| Prior qtr. | 50 | 55 | 54 | 54 | ||
| Selling prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 5/2005 | 15 | 21 | 20 | 23 | |
| Prior qtr. | 15 | 24 | 21 | 22 | ||
| Miscellaneous | ||||||
| Involvement in start of another business | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 8 | |
| Prior qtr. | 8 | 19 | 12 | 9 | ||
| Single most important business problem | ||||||
| % Weak sales | 5/2005 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 10 | |
| Prior qtr. | 12 | 11 | 7 | 10 | ||
| % Taxes | 5/2005 | 10 | 7 | 12 | 9 | |
| Prior qtr. | 12 | 9 | 14 | 8 | ||
| % Employee quality/costs | 5/2005 | 9 | 13 | 7 | 9 | |
| Prior qtr. | 8 | 16 | 10 | 11 | ||
| % Insurance | 5/2005 | 15 | 14 | 19 | 17 | |
| Prior qtr. | 19 | 15 | 17 | 15 | ||
| % Big-business competition | 5/2005 | 17 | 14 | 12 | 10 | |
| Prior qtr. | 12 | 13 | 12 | 18 | ||
| % Inflation/Rising prices | 5/2005 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 17 | |
| Prior qtr. | 9 | 11 | 12 | 9 | ||
| % Credit availability/Interest rates | 5/2005 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| Prior qtr. | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | ||
| % Regulations/Red tape | 5/2005 | 4 | 11 | 8 | 9 | |
| Prior qtr. | 10 | 9 | 9 | 13 | ||
| Colorado Quarterly Spotlight | |
| Over the last year, which type of business insurance has had the most rapidly rising premiums? | |
| Vehicle collision and liability | 9% |
| Workers' compensation | 11% |
| Product and professional liability | 11% |
| Property and casualty | 8% |
| Employee health | 37% |
| Don't know/Refused | 24% |
| Total | 100% |
| Did those premium increases cause you to terminate or postpone planned business investments? | |
| Yes | 24% |
| No | 60% |
| Don't know/Refused | 16% |
| Total | 100% |
The Poll
NFIB’s Colorado Small-Business ConditionsSM is a telephone survey of a random sample of Colorado small employers regarding business conditions within the state. “Small employer” is defined here as employing between one and 250 people (not including the owner(s)) in a for-profit business. Each edition of the survey has a minimum of 350 respondents. The sampling error is ± 5 percentage points. Data are collected quarterly in the months of February, May, August and November, beginning in February 2005. The MRCGroup of Las Vegas conducts the survey for the NFIB Research Foundation.
The Sponsor
The NFIB Research Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) organization that provides policy-makers, media, educators, small-business owners and other interested parties empirically based information on small business and small-business owners. The Foundation is affiliated with the National Federation of Independent Business, the nation’s largest small- and independent-business advocacy organization, and is located in Washington, D.C.
