Release Date: 06/ 01/ 2005
CONTACT: Nancy St. Pierre, (214) 614-3008 or Michelle Dimarob, (202) 554-4000
Missouri Bests Illinois as a State "Supportive" of Small Business
MISSOURI -- Conditions for small businesses in Missouri remain good, and nearly two-thirds of small-business owners are satisfied with the direction that the state is headed, according to the Missouri Small-Business ConditionsSM report released today by the National Federation of Independent Business, the nation's largest small-business advocacy organization.
There was little change in the outlook for business by Missouri small-business owners from the first quarter to the second quarter, according to NFIB's study.
"The fact that there hasn't been a dramatic shift in the assessment of Missouri small-business owners bodes well as the state's economy slowly continues to strengthen," said Brad Jones, NFIB/Missouri state director. "The state recently concluded a legislative session that was the most beneficial in several years for the business community. Once these positive legislative actions, like workers' compensation and tort reform, are realized, I think these surveys will find even more positive attitudes by small-business owners."
Jones' comments also reflect the fact that nearly two-thirds of respondents said they are somewhat to very satisfied with the direction the state is headed. A net 34 percent of those surveyed said that what they value most about doing business in Missouri is the quality of life.
The states surrounding Missouri, which were included in the 26-state survey, also say little changed in their results from the first quarter. The exception was Illinois, which saw a significant drop in its business climate evaluation. Only a net 6 percent of small-business owners surveyed during the past three months in Illinois viewed their state's business environment as "supportive," compared to a net 16 percent surveyed during the first quarter. In Missouri, a net 29 percent of small-business owners believe their business environment is supportive.
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.
| Missouri Small-Business ConditionsSM | ||||||
| This chart shows the results from Missouri and its comparative standing among selected states in the region. | ||||||
| Mo. | Ill. | Iowa | Tenn. | |||
| Business Climate | Survey Date | |||||
| Overall state business environment | ||||||
| Net % supportive of small business | 5/2005 | 29 | 6 | 34 | 32 | |
| Prior qtr. | 30 | 16 | 33 | 31 | ||
| Business conditions in market area | ||||||
| Net % "good" | 5/2005 | 43 | 30 | 45 | 44 | |
| Prior qtr. | 43 | 29 | 37 | 47 | ||
| Net % "improving" | 5/2005 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 14 | |
| Prior qtr. | 21 | 14 | 15 | 21 | ||
| Outlook for business | ||||||
| Net % "good" in next three months | 5/2005 | 62 | 61 | 64 | 61 | |
| Prior qtr. | 70 | 59 | 61 | 68 | ||
| Reason for optimism | ||||||
| % Sales prospects | 5/2005 | 42 | 46 | 41 | 45 | |
| Prior qtr. | 50 | 43 | 42 | 46 | ||
| % Lower costs | 5/2005 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | |
| Prior qtr. | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ||
| % Price increases | 5/2005 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 2 | |
| Prior qtr. | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| % Greater productivity | 5/2005 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 15 | |
| Prior qtr. | 15 | 13 | 16 | 14 | ||
| % Government policy | 5/2005 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | |
| Prior qtr. | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | ||
| % Seasonal weather | 5/2005 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 15 | |
| 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 | ||
| Mo. | Ill. | Iowa | Tenn. | |||
| Sales and earnings (last quarter) | ||||||
| Sales | ||||||
| Net % sales "good" | 5/2005 | 45 | 34 | 55 | 36 | |
| Prior qtr. | 39 | 22 | 44 | 41 | ||
| Profits | ||||||
| Net % profits "good" | 5/2005 | 24 | 15 | 33 | 24 | |
| Prior qtr. | 23 | 9 | 29 | 27 | ||
| Employment | ||||||
| Current job openings (one or more) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 15 | |
| Prior qtr. | 17 | 18 | 15 | 16 | ||
| Per employee payroll cost | ||||||
| Net % "risen" | 5/2005 | 16 | 11 | 16 | 13 | |
| Prior qtr. | 25 | 20 | 13 | 15 | ||
| Employee cost pressures (greater) | ||||||
| % Wages | 5/2005 | 54 | 51 | 58 | 53 | |
| Prior qtr. | 59 | 53 | 55 | 58 | ||
| % Benefits | 5/2005 | 26 | 29 | 24 | 29 | |
| Prior qtr. | 29 | 30 | 26 | 24 | ||
| Mo. | Ill. | Iowa | Tenn. | |||
| Productivity | ||||||
| Upgraded technology/processes (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 46 | 44 | 33 | 40 | |
| Prior qtr. | 39 | 43 | 41 | 41 | ||
| Made capital expenditure(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 43 | 43 | 36 | 38 | |
| Prior qtr. | 44 | 42 | 46 | 40 | ||
| Made expenditure to train employee(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 35 | 40 | 33 | 36 | |
| Prior qtr. | 38 | 43 | 37 | 31 | ||
| Capacity utilization - can increase sales 10% without new inputs | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 49 | 56 | 53 | 56 | |
| Prior qtr. | 55 | 59 | 51 | 56 | ||
| Credit availability (last three months) | ||||||
| % All credit needs satisfied | 5/2005 | 41 | 41 | 41 | 43 | |
| Prior qtr. | 38 | 36 | 47 | 36 | ||
| % All credit needs not satisfied | 5/2005 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | |
| Prior qtr. | 6 | 8 | 5 | 5 | ||
| % No credit needs | 5/2005 | 45 | 46 | 49 | 47 | |
| Prior qtr. | 53 | 52 | 43 | 56 | ||
| Mo. | Ill. | Iowa | Tenn | |||
| Prices | ||||||
| Purchasing prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 5/2005 | 53 | 47 | 58 | 52 | |
| Prior qtr. | 54 | 55 | 50 | 49 | ||
| Selling prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 5/2005 | 20 | 17 | 22 | 17 | |
| Prior qtr. | 21 | 18 | 14 | 17 | ||
| Miscellaneous | ||||||
| Involvement in start of another business | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 11 | |
| Prior qtr. | 12 | 15 | 10 | 10 | ||
| Single most important business problem | ||||||
| % Weak sales | 5/2005 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 10 | |
| Prior qtr. | 7 | 10 | 8 | 9 | ||
| % Taxes | 5/2005 | 12 | 15 | 11 | 11 | |
| Prior qtr. | 14 | 7 | -9 | 12 | ||
| % Employee quality/costs | 5/2005 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 9 | |
| Prior qtr. | 10 | 8 | 8 | 12 | ||
| % Insurance | 5/2005 | 19 | 17 | 19 | 15 | |
| Prior qtr. | 17 | 21 | 19 | 14 | ||
| % Big-business competition | 5/2005 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 15 | |
| Prior qtr. | 12 | 11 | 17 | 15 | ||
| % Inflation/Rising prices | 5/2005 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 14 | |
| Prior qtr. | 12 | 16 | 10 | 12 | ||
| % Credit availability/Interest rates | 5/2005 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | |
| Prior qtr. | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | ||
| % Regulations/Red tape | 5/2005 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | |
| Prior qtr. | 9 | 9 | 11 | 6 | ||
| Missouri Quarterly Spotlight | |
| In general, how satisfied are you with the direction that Missouri is headed? | |
| Very satisfied | 10% |
| Somewhat satisfied | 53% |
| Not too satisfied | 18% |
| Not at all satisfied | 12% |
| Don't know/Refused | 7% |
| Total | 100% |
| What do you value most in the area where you do business? | |
| Quality of life | 34% |
| Physical environment | 9% |
| Opportunity | 16% |
| Vibrance and vitality | 2% |
| My roots are here | 28% |
| Other | 2% |
| Don't know/Refused | 9% |
| Total | 100% |
The Poll
NFIB’s Missouri Small-Business ConditionsSM is a telephone survey of a random sample of Missouri 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.
