Release Date: 09/ 01/ 2005
CONTACT: Melody Harrison, (404) 876-8516 or Jim Brown, (615) 874-5288
Georgia Entrepreneurs Resilient in Face of Inflationary Pressure, Shed Light on Immigrant Labor
ATLANTA -- Small-business owners in Georgia continue to be very confident in today’s economy and its future, according to the Georgia Small-Business ConditionsSM. The report’s data, which was released today by the National Federation of Independent Business/Georgia, provides an overview of small-business conditions within Georgia and compares them with neighboring states.
While most states in the survey group (26 total) registered a slip in optimism, Georgia’s small-business owners held firm. A net 25 percent (positive percent minus negative percent) of respondents said business conditions are “improving,” effectively no change from the June reading. Florida also registered a net 25 percent while North Carolina (net 14 percent), South Carolina (net 14 percent) and Tennessee (net 5 percent) experienced more precipitous declines in their optimism. A net 67 percent of Georgia respondents said prospects over the next several months are “good,” which is up from a net 64 percent in June and which trailed only Florida (net 69 percent) in its peer group.
“Despite inflationary pressure from rising gas prices, Georgia’s small-business owners are still very optimistic,” NFIB/Georgia State Director Melody Harrison said. “Our state’s business environment, conditions and outlook readings are among the best in the nation – a testament in large part to our leadership in Atlanta and community leaders across Georgia.”
A net 37 percent said Georgia’s business environment is “supportive,” and a net 52 percent said business conditions are “good,” two of the best readings nationally. Sales and profits were also viewed as “good” by a net 52 percent and net 35 percent, respectively. Both readings were higher than in June, which may be attributable in part to seasonal effects.
One trend that may threaten the current optimism is that average prices paid for goods and services have “increased,” according to a net 55 percent of respondents, up from a net 49 percent in June. Payroll costs in the quarter also increased to a net 19 percent, up from a net 12 percent in June. Inflation and rising prices (12 percent) is the No. 4 business problem, trailing only big-business competition (15 percent), taxes (13 percent), and employee quality and costs (12 percent).
Asked to describe the role of immigrant labor in Georgia, 36 percent of respondents said this segment of the workforce has “no appreciable role” in their particular area, while 18 percent said immigrant workers “fill jobs that otherwise wouldn't be filled.” Only 11 percent said immigrant workers “crowd out American workers,” 8 percent said they “provide skills not otherwise available,” and 25 percent said they didn't know.
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.
| 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 | 8/2005 | 37 | 29 | 38 | 40 | 32 |
| Prior qtr. | 36 | 26 | 42 | 38 | 32 | |
| Business conditions in market area | ||||||
| Net % "good" | 8/2005 | 52 | 55 | 43 | 45 | 40 |
| Prior qtr. | 45 | 55 | 44 | 45 | 44 | |
| Net % "improving" | 8/2005 | 25 | 25 | 14 | 14 | 6 |
| Prior qtr. | 26 | 20 | 25 | 22 | 14 | |
| Outlook for business | ||||||
| Net % "good" in next three months | 8/2005 | 67 | 69 | 65 | 62 | 62 |
| Prior qtr. | 64 | 60 | 65 | 69 | 61 | |
| Reason for optimism | ||||||
| % Sales prospects | 8/2005 | 51 | 42 | 43 | 40 | 37 |
| Prior qtr. | 40 | 44 | 39 | 43 | 45 | |
| % Lower costs | 8/2005 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Prior qtr. | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | |
| % Price increases | 8/2005 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Prior qtr. | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | |
| % Greater productivity | 8/2005 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 17 | 16 |
| Prior qtr. | 13 | 16 | 12 | 15 | 15 | |
| % Government policy | 8/2005 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Prior qtr. | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | |
| % Seasonal/Weather | 8/2005 | 8 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 10 |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Reason for pessimism | ||||||
| % Sales prospects | 8/2005 | IC* | IC | IC | IC | IC |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | IC | |
| % Cost increases | 8/2005 | IC | IC | IC | IC | IC |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | IC | |
| % Pressure on selling prices | 8/2005 | IC | IC | IC | IC | IC |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | IC | |
| % Lower productivity | 8/2005 | IC | IC | IC | IC | IC |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | IC | |
| % Government policies | 8/2005 | IC | IC | IC | IC | IC |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | IC | |
| Ga. | Fla. | N.C. | S.C. | Tenn. | ||
| Sales and earnings (last quarter) | ||||||
| Sales | ||||||
| Net % sales "good" | 8/2005 | 52 | 50 | 53 | 55 | 41 |
| Prior qtr. | 42 | 53 | 45 | 49 | 36 | |
| Profits | ||||||
| Net % profits "good" | 8/2005 | 35 | 32 | 38 | 40 | 27 |
| Prior qtr. | 28 | 37 | 32 | 34 | 24 | |
| Employment | ||||||
| Current job openings (one or more) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 8/2005 | 23 | 15 | 26 | 17 | 20 |
| Prior qtr. | 18 | 24 | 19 | 21 | 15 | |
| Per employee payroll cost | ||||||
| Net % "risen" | 8/2005 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 15 |
| Prior qtr. | 12 | 17 | 12 | 12 | 13 | |
| Employee cost pressures (greater) | ||||||
| % Wages | 8/2005 | 55 | 57 | 54 | 57 | 59 |
| Prior qtr. | 60 | 55 | 57 | 60 | 53 | |
| % Benefits | 8/2005 | 23 | 24 | 28 | 23 | 24 |
| Prior qtr. | 21 | 26 | 24 | 21 | 29 | |
| Ga. | Fla. | N.C. | S.C. | Tenn. | ||
| Productivity | ||||||
| Upgraded technology/processes (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 8/2005 | 46 | 46 | 44 | 37 | 41 |
| Prior qtr. | 43 | 42 | 34 | 42 | 40 | |
| Made capital expenditure(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 8/2005 | 36 | 43 | 43 | 41 | 39 |
| Prior qtr. | 36 | 41 | 42 | 35 | 38 | |
| Made expenditure to train employee(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 8/2005 | 42 | 40 | 42 | 43 | 39 |
| Prior qtr. | 40 | 39 | 41 | 35 | 36 | |
| Capacity utilization - can increase sales 10% without new inputs | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 8/2005 | 61 | 55 | 52 | 54 | 49 |
| Prior qtr. | 49 | 52 | 49 | 50 | 56 | |
| Credit availability (last three months) | ||||||
| % All credit needs satisfied | 8/2005 | 39 | 41 | 39 | 38 | 35 |
| Prior qtr. | 43 | 39 | 39 | 40 | 43 | |
| % All credit needs not satisfied | 8/2005 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Prior qtr. | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | |
| % No credit needs | 8/2005 | 52 | 48 | 52 | 49 | 53 |
| Prior qtr. | 42 | 48 | 48 | 50 | 47 | |
| Ga. | Fla. | N.C. | S.C. | Tenn. | ||
| Prices | ||||||
| Purchasing prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 8/2005 | 55 | 55 | 54 | 53 | 58 |
| Prior qtr. | 49 | 54 | 51 | 51 | 52 | |
| Selling prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 8/2005 | 17 | 20 | 14 | 14 | 13 |
| Prior qtr. | 15 | 21 | 15 | 21 | 17 | |
| Miscellaneous | ||||||
| Involvement in start of another business | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 8/2005 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| Prior qtr. | 10 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 11 | |
| Single most important business problem | ||||||
| % Weak sales | 8/2005 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 8 |
| Prior qtr. | 13 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | |
| % Taxes | 8/2005 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 14 | 13 |
| Prior qtr. | 13 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 11 | |
| % Employee quality/costs | 8/2005 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 10 |
| Prior qtr. | 12 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 9 | |
| % Insurance | 8/2005 | 12 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 19 |
| Prior qtr. | 11 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 15 | |
| % Big-business competition | 8/2005 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 11 |
| Prior qtr. | 11 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 15 | |
| % Inflation/Rising prices | 8/2005 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 13 |
| Prior qtr. | 16 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 14 | |
| % Credit availability/Interest rates | 8/2005 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Prior qtr. | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| % Regulations/Red tape | 8/2005 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 |
| Prior qtr. | 7 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 8 | |
| Georgia Quarterly Spotlight | |
| Which best describes the role immigrant labor plays in your area? | |
| Provides skills not otherwise available | 8% |
| Fills jobs that otherwise wouldn't be filled | 18% |
| Crowds out American workers | 11% |
| No appreciable role | 36% |
| Don't know/Refused | 27% |
| Total | 100% |
| If you were to give your employees a compensation increase equivalent to $1 per hour, how would you do it? Would you give it to them in:? | |
| Wages or salary | 64% |
| Health benefits | 9% |
| Retirement benefits | 3% |
| Paid leave | 8% |
| Other | 6% |
| Wouldn't give increases | 1% |
| Don't know/Refused | 10% |
| 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.
