Release Date: 06/ 01/ 2005
CONTACT: Steve Birtman, (850) 681-0416 or Jim Brown, (615) 874-5288
Small Business: Florida Ahead of Southeast Peers but Gold Coast Again Trails Other Regions
TALLAHASSEE, June 1, 2005 – Florida’s small-business owners believe business conditions are good, but they’re not as positive about support they’re receiving from government officials and other influential decisionmakers, according to the Florida Small-Business ConditionsSM. The report’s data, which was released today by the National Federation of Independent Business/Florida, provides an overview of small-business conditions within Florida and compares them with neighboring states.
A net 55 percent (positive percent minus negative percent) of respondents indicated that business conditions are “good” in Florida. That compares to last quarter’s net 61 percent reading, a six-percentage point decline but still the highest reading among peer group states in the Southeast – Georgia (net 45 percent), North Carolina (net 44 percent), South Carolina (net 45 percent), Tennessee (net 44 percent) and Virginia (net 48 percent). By region, a net 61 percent of respondents in North Florida and Tampa/West Coast said business conditions are good while a net 58 percent of respondents in Central Florida said the same. All three regions compared very favorably to the Gold Coast (net 47 percent), which lagged other regions for a second consecutive quarter.
“Business conditions in Florida are very good in relation to the Southeast and the rest of the country, but the business environment isn’t perceived on the same level,” said NFIB/Florida State Director Steve Birtman, noting a net 26 percent of respondents said the business environment in Florida is supportive, down from a net 32 percent last quarter and lowest among the other six Southeastern states. “The data from NFIB/Florida’s Small-Business Conditions indicates we’re doing quite well and that sales and profits are growing. Small-business owners, however, still seem to think our government leaders and influential people in our communities can do a better job of supporting entrepreneurs.”
A net 20 percent said conditions are “improving,” down eight percentage points from last quarter. Fifty-four percent of respondents said average prices paid for goods and services increased while 41 percent said those prices stayed the same. Small-business owners held the line on raising prices – 70 percent kept average selling prices the same while 24 percent increased selling prices. “Despite recent cost pressures, small-business owners are holding the line on passing along increases to consumers,” Birtman said.
The top four “single most important problems” facing small-business owners today are big business competition (15 percent), insurance (15 percent), inflation and rising prices (14 percent), and employee quality or costs (12 percent).
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The Small-Business ConditionsSM 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.
| Florida 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 | 5/2005 | 26 | 31 | 35 | 18 | 27 |
| Prior qtr. | 32 | 29 | 39 | 26 | 37 | |
| Business conditions in market area | ||||||
| Net % "good" | 5/2005 | 55 | 61 | 58 | 47 | 61 |
| Prior qtr. | 61 | 56 | 69 | 51 | 70 | |
| Net % "improving" | 5/2005 | 20 | 34 | 26 | 12 | 20 |
| Prior qtr. | 28 | 27 | 33 | 21 | 35 | |
| Outlook for business | ||||||
| Net % "good" in next three months | 5/2005 | 60 | 71 | 64 | 53 | 61 |
| Prior qtr. | 72 | 75 | 77 | 67 | 74 | |
| Reason for optimism | ||||||
| % Sales prospects | 5/2005 | 44 | 43 | 44 | 43 | 44 |
| Prior qtr. | 42 | 39 | 45 | 41 | 44 | |
| % Lower costs | 5/2005 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 3 |
| Prior qtr. | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| % Price increases | 5/2005 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 3 |
| Prior qtr. | 5 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 3 | |
| % Greater productivity | 5/2005 | 16 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 15 |
| Prior qtr. | 14 | 18 | 11 | 16 | 12 | |
| % Government policy | 5/2005 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Prior qtr. | 6 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | |
| % Seasonal/Weather | 5/2005 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Reason for pessimism | ||||||
| % Sales prospects | 5/2005 | IC* | IC | IC | IC | IC |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | IC | |
| % Cost increases | 5/2005 | IC | IC | IC | IC | IC |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | IC | |
| % Pressure on selling prices | 5/2005 | IC | IC | IC | IC | IC |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | IC | |
| % Lower productivity | 5/2005 | IC | IC | IC | IC | IC |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | IC | |
| % Government policies | 5/2005 | IC | IC | IC | IC | IC |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | IC | |
| Fla. | North | Central | Gold Coast |
Tampa/ W.Coast | ||
| Sales and earnings (last quarter) | ||||||
| Sales | ||||||
| Net % sales "good" | 5/2005 | 53 | 61 | 62 | 42 | 57 |
| Prior qtr. | 54 | 55 | 63 | 45 | 60 | |
| Profits | ||||||
| Net % profits "good" | 5/2005 | 37 | 45 | 42 | 31 | 38 |
| Prior qtr. | 39 | 36 | 45 | 33 | 45 | |
| Employment | ||||||
| Current job openings (one or more) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 23 | 25 |
| Prior qtr. | 23 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 22 | |
| Per employee payroll cost | ||||||
| Net % "risen" | 5/2005 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 15 | 15 |
| Prior qtr. | 17 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 18 | |
| Employee cost pressures (greater) | ||||||
| % Wages | 5/2005 | 55 | 57 | 56 | 54 | 54 |
| Prior qtr. | 55 | 57 | 56 | 55 | 54 | |
| % Benefits | 5/2005 | 26 | 23 | 22 | 29 | 24 |
| Prior qtr. | 25 | 24 | 23 | 26 | 25 | |
| Fla. | North | Central | Gold Coast |
Tampa/ W.Coast | ||
| Productivity | ||||||
| Upgraded technology/processes (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 42 | 43 | 45 | 44 | 37 |
| Prior qtr. | 45 | 41 | 47 | 44 | 47 | |
| Made capital expenditure(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 41 | 43 | 45 | 37 | 41 |
| Prior qtr. | 43 | 41 | 45 | 42 | 44 | |
| Made expenditure to train employee(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 39 | 40 | 40 | 37 | 39 |
| Prior qtr. | 39 | 39 | 38 | 39 | 37 | |
| Capacity utilization - can increase sales 10% without new inputs | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 52 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 51 |
| Prior qtr. | 57 | 55 | 61 | 57 | 57 | |
| Credit availability (last three months) | ||||||
| % All credit needs satisfied | 5/2005 | 39 | 41 | 42 | 34 | 42 |
| Prior qtr. | 40 | 42 | 45 | 38 | 37 | |
| % All credit needs not satisfied | 5/2005 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 6 |
| Prior qtr. | 9 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 6 | |
| % No credit needs | 5/2005 | 48 | 46 | 47 | 51 | 45 |
| Prior qtr. | 46 | 48 | 41 | 44 | 50 | |
| Fla. | North | Central | Gold Coast |
Tampa/ W.Coast | ||
| Prices | ||||||
| Purchasing prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 5/2005 | 54 | 51 | 51 | 59 | 50 |
| Prior qtr. | 48 | 52 | 50 | 45 | 49 | |
| Selling prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 5/2005 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 20 | 21 |
| Prior qtr. | 20 | 22 | 22 | 15 | 24 | |
| Miscellaneous | ||||||
| Involvement in start of another business | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 13 | 9 | 11 | 16 | 11 |
| Prior qtr. | 12 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 13 | |
| Single most important business problem | ||||||
| % Weak sales | 5/2005 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 7 |
| Prior qtr. | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 9 | |
| % Taxes | 5/2005 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 7 |
| Prior qtr. | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | |
| % Employee quality/costs | 5/2005 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 14 |
| Prior qtr. | 10 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 9 | |
| % Insurance | 5/2005 | 15 | 13 | 17 | 15 | 15 |
| Prior qtr. | 19 | 17 | 23 | 16 | 21 | |
| % Big-business competition | 5/2005 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 19 |
| Prior qtr. | 15 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 11 | |
| % Inflation/Rising prices | 5/2005 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 13 |
| Prior qtr. | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | |
| % Credit availability/Interest rates | 5/2005 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| Prior qtr. | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | |
| % Regulations/Red tape | 5/2005 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Prior qtr. | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 10 | |
| Florida Quarterly Spotlight | |||||
| Fla. | North | Central | Gold Coast |
Tampa/ W.Coast | |
| In general, how satisfied are you with the direction that Florida is headed? | |||||
| Very satisfied | 14% | 15% | 20% | 9% | 15% |
| Somewhat satisfied | 55% | 58% | 54% | 53% | 55% |
| Not too satisfied | 15% | 11% | 10% | 19% | 16% |
| Not at all satisfied | 9% | 9% | 9% | 11% | 7% |
| Don't know/Refused | 8% | 8% | 7% | 8% | 8% |
| Total | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Which type of tax increase would have the most adverse effect on your business? | |||||
| Payroll taxes | 24% | 22% | 28% | 19% | 27% |
| Corporate income or franchise taxes |
13% | 13% | 10% | 15% | 11% |
| Real property taxes | 8% | 10% | 6% | 11% | 6% |
| Sales taxes | 13% | 11% | 12% | 13% | 13% |
| Personal income taxes | 10% | 12% | 12% | 10% | 9% |
| Personal property, including inventory, taxes |
11% | 10% | 11% | 12% | 10% |
| Other | 2% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 1% |
| All/Any | 2% | 2% | 2% | 1% | 2% |
| Don't know/Refused | 18% | 18% | 17% | 16% | 19% |
| 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.
