Release Date: 03/ 01/ 2005
CONTACT: Steve Birtman, (850) 681-0416 or Jim Brown, (615) 874-5288
New NFIB Survey Indicates Gold Coast Lagging Behind Other Regions
FLORIDA -- Florida's overall business climate is supportive of small business, according to the inaugural Florida Small-Business ConditionsSM. The report's data, which is the first compilation of its type, was released today by the National Federation of Independent Business/Florida. It provides an overview of small-business conditions within Florida and compares them with neighboring states.
A net 32 percent (positive percent minus negative percent) of respondents to a recent survey indicated Florida is supportive of small business. Comparatively, Florida's Central region registered a supportive rating of a net 39 percent and Tampa/West Coast recorded a net 37 percent. The North Florida and Gold Coast regions trailed with supportive ratings of net 29 percent and net 26 percent, respectively.
"Florida is known nationally for its business-friendly environment, but when you break down sentiment and outlook numbers by region you recognize notable variances," NFIB/Florida State Director Steve Birtman said. "Florida has made much progress over the years, but it's important to note that entrepreneurs recognize which regions in the Sunshine State are more supportive of small business than others."
A net 61 percent of Florida small employers called business conditions good in their market area. However, the Gold Coast (net 51 percent) and North Florida (net 56 percent) trailed Tampa/West Coast (net 70 percent) and Central (net 69 percent) noticeably.
A net 72 percent characterized the outlook for business over the next three months as good, citing sales prospects (42 percent) and greater productivity (17 percent) as primary reasons for their view. Again, the Gold Coast lagged behind other regions, with a net 67 percent calling their business outlook "good." A net 39 percent indicated that profits were "good," and a net 54 percent of those same respondents characterized sales as "good." Overall, a net 48 percent of small employers reported that over the last three months their purchasing prices rose, while a net 20 percent reported they had increased selling prices.
Birtman said regional variances were almost nonexistent when it came to the business insurance with the most rapidly rising premiums – employee health. Twenty-nine percent of respondents statewide said employee health premiums rose most rapidly, with the greatest regional variance only three percentage points (Central and Gold Coast at 30 percent; Tampa/West Coast at 29 percent; and North Florida at 27 percent).
For information about the Small-Business ConditionsSM project and other small-business research studies conducted by the NFIB Research Foundation, visit www.NFIB.com/research.
| Flordia Small-Business ConditionsSM | ||||||
| This chart shows the results within Florida and its principal regions. | ||||||
| Fla. | North | Central | Gold Coast |
Tampa/ W.Coast | ||
| Business Climate | Survey Date | |||||
| Overall state business environment | ||||||
| Net % supportive of small business | 2/2005 | 32 | 29 | 39 | 26 | 37 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Business conditions in market area | ||||||
| Net % "good" | 2/2005 | 61 | 56 | 69 | 51 | 70 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Net % "improving" | 2/2005 | 28 | 27 | 33 | 21 | 35 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Outlook for business | ||||||
| Net % "good" in next three months | 2/2005 | 72 | 75 | 77 | 67 | 74 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Reason for optimism | ||||||
| % Sales prospects | 2/2005 | 42 | 39 | 45 | 41 | 44 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Lower costs | 2/2005 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Price increases | 2/2005 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 3 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Greater productivity | 2/2005 | 14 | 18 | 11 | 16 | 12 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Government policy | 2/2005 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Reason for pessimism | ||||||
| % Sales prospects | 2/2005 | 17 | 10 | 14 | 16 | 25 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Cost increases | 2/2005 | 6 | 20 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Pressure on selling prices | 2/2005 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Lower productivity | 2/2005 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 13 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Government policies | 2/2005 | 35 | 30 | 29 | 47 | 0 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Fla. | North | Central | Gold Coast |
Tampa/ W.Coast | ||
| Sales and earnings (last quarter) | ||||||
| Sales | ||||||
| Net % sales "good" | 2/2005 | 54 | 55 | 63 | 45 | 60 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Profits | ||||||
| Net % profits "good" | 2/2005 | 39 | 36 | 45 | 33 | 45 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Employment | ||||||
| Current job openings (one or more) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 22 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Per employee payroll cost | ||||||
| Net % "risen" | 2/2005 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 18 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Employee cost pressures (greater) | ||||||
| % Wages | 2/2005 | 55 | 57 | 56 | 55 | 54 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Benefits | 2/2005 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 26 | 25 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Fla. | North | Central | Gold Coast |
Tampa/ W.Coast | ||
| Productivity | ||||||
| Upgraded technology/processes (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 45 | 41 | 47 | 44 | 47 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Made capital expenditure(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 43 | 41 | 45 | 42 | 44 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Made expenditure to train employee(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 39 | 39 | 38 | 39 | 37 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Capacity utilization - can increase sales 10% without new inputs | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 57 | 55 | 61 | 57 | 57 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Credit availability (last three months) | ||||||
| % All credit needs satisfied | 2/2005 | 40 | 42 | 45 | 38 | 37 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % All credit needs not satisfied | 2/2005 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 6 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % No credit needs | 2/2005 | 46 | 48 | 41 | 44 | 50 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Fla. | North | Central | Gold Coast |
Tampa/ W.Coast | ||
| Prices | ||||||
| Purchasing prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 2/2005 | 48 | 52 | 50 | 45 | 49 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Selling prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 2/2005 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 15 | 24 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Miscellaneous | ||||||
| Involvement in start of another business | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 12 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 13 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Single most important business problem | ||||||
| % Weak sales | 2/2005 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 9 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Taxes | 2/2005 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Employee quality/costs | 2/2005 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 9 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Insurance | 2/2005 | 19 | 17 | 23 | 16 | 21 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Big-business competition | 2/2005 | 15 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 11 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Inflation/Rising prices | 2/2005 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Credit availability/Interest rates | 2/2005 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Regulations/Red tape | 2/2005 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 10 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Florida Quarterly Spotlight | |||||
| Fla. | North | Central | Gold Coast |
Tampa/ W.Coast | |
| Over the last year, which type of business insurance has had the most rapidly rising premiums? | |||||
| Vehicle collision and liability | 10% | 9% | 9% | 12% | 9% |
| Workers' compensation | 15% | 15% | 15% | 13% | 16% |
| Product or professional liability | 11% | 15% | 10% | 9% | 13% |
| Property and casualty | 12% | 10% | 11% | 13% | 11% |
| Employee health | 29% | 27% | 30% | 30% | 29% |
| Don't know/Refused | 23% | 23% | 26% | 23% | 23% |
| Total | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Were you able to largely offset those intended premium increases by raising deductibles, limiting coverages, and things of that nature? | |||||
| Yes | 33% | 35% | 29% | 35% | 33% |
| No | 46% | 49% | 53% | 41% | 46% |
| Don't know/Refused | 21% | 17% | 19% | 24% | 22% |
| Total | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
The Poll
NFIB’s Florida Small-Business ConditionsSM is a telephone survey of a random sample of Florida’s small employers regarding business condition within the state. “Small employer” is defined here as someone employing between one and 250 people (not including the owner(s)) in a for-profit business. Four separate regional surveys are conducted, each with a minimum of 350 respondents. The North Florida survey samples small employers in ZIP codes 32000-32099 and 32200-32699. Pensacola, Tallahassee, Jacksonville and Gainesville are included. The Central Florida survey samples small employers in ZIP codes 32100-32199, 32700-32999, 34400-34499 and 34700-34799. Daytona Beach, Ocala, Orlando and Vero Beach are included. The Gold Coast survey samples small employers in ZIP codes 33000-33499 and 34900-34999. Fort Pierce, West Palm Beach, Miami and the Keys are included. Finally, the Tampa Bay-South survey samples small employers in ZIP codes 33500-34299 and 34600-34699. Spring Hill, Lakeland, Sebring and Naples are included. The sampling error of each survey is ± 5 percentage points. States totals result by population weighting regional totals. 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.
