Release Date: 03/ 01/ 2005
CONTACT: Melody Harrison, (404) 876-8516 or Jim Brown, (615) 874-5288
New NFIB Survey Finds State Fares Well Among Neighbors
The overall business climate in Georgia is positive for small business, especially when compared to some of its neighboring states, according to the inaugural Georgia Small-Business ConditionsSM report.
The report's data, which is the first compilation of its type, was released today by the National Federation of Independent Business/Georgia. It provides an overview of small-business conditions within Georgia and compares them with neighboring states.
A net 37 percent (positive percent minus negative percent) of respondents to a recent survey indicated Georgia is supportive of small business. Comparatively, Florida and Tennessee fared less well, registering a net 32 percent and net 31 percent, respectively. North Carolina and South Carolina registered a net 36 percent and a net 40 percent, which are not statistically significant differences. In the Peach State, more than 51 percent of respondents said government officials, bankers, media outlets and community organizations are supportive or highly supportive of small business while about 14 percent said those same entities are not supportive or not at all supportive.
"This Small-Business Conditions survey indicates an encouraging climate for small business in Georgia," NFIB/Georgia State Director Melody Harrison said. "Though our challenges remain, these data suggests Georgia is making solid headway in projecting a business-friendly environment."
A net 52 percent of the state's small employers believed business conditions in their market area are good while a net 30 percent saw those conditions improving. A net 73 percent characterized the outlook for business over the next three months as good, citing sales prospects (41 percent) and greater productivity (15 percent) as primary reasons for their view. The outlook for business in surrounding states is also good, with Florida a net 72 percent, North Carolina and South Carolina a net 70 percent, and Tennessee a net 68 percent.
A net 26 percent indicated that profits were "good," and a net 43 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 12 percent reported they had increased selling prices.
Georgia small-business owners ranked insurance their most serious problem, followed by big-business competition, rising prices and inflation, and taxes. Small-business owners in Georgia value the following most in the area they do business – quality of life (38 percent), opportunity (23 percent) and established roots (20 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.
| Georgia Small-Business ConditionsSM | ||||||
| This chart shows the results from Georgia and its comparative standing among selected nearby states. | ||||||
| Ga. | Fla. | N.C. | S.C. | Tenn. | ||
| Business Climate | Survey Date | |||||
| Overall state business environment | ||||||
| Net % supportive of small business | 2/2005 | 37 | 32 | 36 | 40 | 31 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Business conditions in market area | ||||||
| Net % "good" | 2/2005 | 52 | 61 | 38 | 55 | 47 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Net % "improving" | 2/2005 | 30 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 21 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Outlook for business | ||||||
| Net % "good" in next three months | 2/2005 | 73 | 72 | 70 | 70 | 68 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Reason for optimism | ||||||
| % Sales prospects | 2/2005 | 41 | 42 | 57 | 47 | 46 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Lower costs | 2/2005 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Price increases | 2/2005 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Greater productivity | 2/2005 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 14 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Government policy | 2/2005 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Reason for pessimism | ||||||
| % Sales prospects | 2/2005 | 9 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 12 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Cost increases | 2/2005 | 9 | 6 | 21 | 14 | 12 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Pressure on selling prices | 2/2005 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 6 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Lower productivity | 2/2005 | 0 | 4 | 21 | 14 | 6 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Government policies | 2/2005 | 36 | 35 | 7 | 29 | 35 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Ga. | Fla. | N.C. | S.C. | Tenn. | ||
| Sales and earnings (last quarter) | ||||||
| Sales | ||||||
| Net % sales "good" | 2/2005 | 43 | 54 | 39 | 43 | 41 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Profits | ||||||
| Net % profits "good" | 2/2005 | 26 | 39 | 24 | 24 | 27 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Employment | ||||||
| Current job openings (one or more) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 20 | 23 | 20 | 20 | 16 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Per employee payroll cost | ||||||
| Net % "risen" | 2/2005 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 10 | 15 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Employee cost pressures (greater) | ||||||
| % Wages | 2/2005 | 57 | 55 | 57 | 61 | 58 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Benefits | 2/2005 | 27 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 24 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Ga. | Fla. | N.C. | S.C. | Tenn. | ||
| Productivity | ||||||
| Upgraded technology/processes (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 43 | 45 | 41 | 41 | 41 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Made capital expenditure(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 39 | 43 | 47 | 42 | 40 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Made expenditure to train employee(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 43 | 39 | 48 | 41 | 31 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Capacity utilization - can increase sales 10% without new inputs | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 58 | 57 | 58 | 58 | 56 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Credit availability (last three months) | ||||||
| % All credit needs satisfied | 2/2005 | 35 | 40 | 40 | 41 | 36 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % All credit needs not satisfied | 2/2005 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 5 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % No credit needs | 2/2005 | 53 | 46 | 51 | 48 | 56 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Ga. | Fla. | N.C. | S.C. | Tenn. | ||
| Prices | ||||||
| Purchasing prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 2/2005 | 48 | 48 | 54 | 49 | 49 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Selling prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 2/2005 | 12 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 17 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Miscellaneous | ||||||
| Involvement in start of another business | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 13 | 10 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Single most important business problem | ||||||
| % Weak sales | 2/2005 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 9 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Taxes | 2/2005 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 12 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Employee quality/costs | 2/2005 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Insurance | 2/2005 | 21 | 19 | 15 | 19 | 14 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Big-business competition | 2/2005 | 11 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 15 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Inflation/Rising prices | 2/2005 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 12 | 12 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Credit availability/Interest rates | 2/2005 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| % Regulations/Red tape | 2/2005 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Georgia Quarterly Spotlight | |
| In general, how satisfied are you with the direction that Georgia is headed? | |
| Very satisfied | 17% |
| Somewhat satisfied | 58% |
| Not too satisfied | 12% |
| Not at all satisfied | 5% |
| Don't know/Refused | 7% |
| Total | 100% |
| What do you value most in the area where you do business? | |
| Quality of life | 38% |
| Physical environment | 7% |
| Opportunity | 23% |
| Vibrance and vitality | 1% |
| My roots are here | 20% |
| Other | 3% |
| Don't know/Refused | 7% |
| Total | 100% |
The Poll
NFIB’s Georgia Small-Business ConditionsSM is a telephone survey of a random sample of Georgia 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.
