Release Date: 12/ 01/ 2005
CONTACT: Brad Jones, (573) 634-7660, or Nancy St. Pierre, (214) 614-3008
Quarterly survey also shows increase in satisfaction with state’s direction
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- While fewer small-business owners believe the outlook is "good" for them over the coming months, they are still satisfied with the direction the state is headed, according to the fourth quarter Missouri Small-Business ConditionsSM report released today by the National Federation of Independent Business, the nation's largest small-business advocacy organization.
While a net 45 percent of small-business owners indicated business conditions in their market were "good," only a net 5 percent believe those conditions are "improving." A net 59 percent of survey respondents indicated their outlook for business was "good" for the next three months, down seven percentage points from the previous quarter.
There may have been a dip in Missouri small-business owner's confidence, but they continue to outperform and are in a stronger business environment than neighboring Illinois, an ongoing trend identified in the report. A net 31 percent of Missouri small-business owners indicate that the state's business environment is "supportive" while only a net 12 percent of Illinois survey respondents believe that is true of their state.
"Overall, Missouri small-business owners continue to do well here in a state that embraces small businesses and recognizes their contributions to our economy," said Brad Jones, NFIB/Missouri state director. "This survey clearly shows the difference between a state government that is supportive of small business as opposed to one that throws up road blocks to economic growth. Missouri is fortunate to have a governor and legislature that not only understand the value of small business, but work to help the small-business community grow and strengthen."
A majority of Illinois small-business owners are not positive about their market area business conditions, with only a net 24 percent indicating the conditions are "good," compared to a net 45 percent in Missouri. A net zero percent of Illinois survey respondents indicated those conditions are "improving."
Increased energy costs could be one reason survey respondents are cautious about the future. Forty-nine percent indicated they are either reducing energy use or absorbing costs with lower earnings to offset skyrocketing energy prices, according to the report. Only 12 percent of small-business owners are raising selling prices as a result of increases gas and oil prices.
| 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 | 11/2005 | 31 | 12 | 37 | 31 | |
| Prior qtr. | 28 | 18 | 32 | 32 | ||
| Business conditions in market area | ||||||
| Net % "good" | 11/2005 | 45 | 24 | 40 | 43 | |
| Prior qtr. | 44 | 31 | 41 | 40 | ||
| Net % "improving" | 11/2005 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 9 | |
| Prior qtr. | 11 | 8 | 5 | 6 | ||
| Outlook for business | ||||||
| Net % "good" in next three months | 11/2005 | 59 | 51 | 57 | 62 | |
| Prior qtr. | 66 | 51 | 55 | 62 | ||
| Reason for optimism | ||||||
| % Sales prospects | 11/2005 | 49 | 47 | 42 | 51 | |
| Prior qtr. | 43 | 49 | 41 | 37 | ||
| % Lower costs | 11/2005 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | |
| Prior qtr. | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | ||
| % Price increases | 11/2005 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 5 | |
| Prior qtr. | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| % Greater productivity | 11/2005 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | |
| Prior qtr. | 12 | 16 | 17 | 16 | ||
| % Government policies | 11/2005 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | |
| Prior qtr. | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| % Seasonal weather | 11/2005 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 5 | |
| Prior qtr. | 11 | 11 | 9 | 10 | ||
| Reason for pessimism | ||||||
| % Sales prospects | 11/2005 | IC* | IC | IC | IC | |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | ||
| % Cost increases | 11/2005 | IC | IC | IC | IC | |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | ||
| % Pressure on selling prices | 11/2005 | IC | IC | IC | IC | |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | ||
| % Lower productivity | 11/2005 | IC | IC | IC | IC | |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | ||
| % Government policies | 11/2005 | IC | IC | IC | IC | |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | ||
| Mo. | Ill. | Iowa | Tenn. | |||
| Sales and earnings (last quarter) | ||||||
| Sales | ||||||
| Net % sales "good" | 11/2005 | 43 | 36 | 43 | 47 | |
| Prior qtr. | 46 | 39 | 43 | 41 | ||
| Profits | ||||||
| Net % profits "good" | 11/2005 | 24 | 16 | 26 | 32 | |
| Prior qtr. | 27 | 22 | 25 | 27 | ||
| Employment | ||||||
| Current job openings (one or more) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 11/2005 | 21 | 17 | 21 | 17 | |
| Prior qtr. | 20 | 18 | 18 | 20 | ||
| Per employee payroll cost | ||||||
| Net % "risen" | 11/2005 | 19 | 14 | 16 | 15 | |
| Prior qtr. | 13 | 17 | 18 | 15 | ||
| Employee cost pressures (greater) | ||||||
| % Wages | 11/2005 | 52 | 51 | 57 | 57 | |
| Prior qtr. | 58 | 51 | 56 | 59 | ||
| % Benefits | 11/2005 | 33 | 31 | 26 | 24 | |
| Prior qtr. | 24 | 34 | 28 | 24 | ||
| Mo. | Ill. | Iowa | Tenn. | |||
| Productivity | ||||||
| Upgraded technology/processes (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 11/2005 | 46 | 44 | 40 | 43 | |
| Prior qtr. | 42 | 45 | 38 | 41 | ||
| Made capital expenditure(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 11/2005 | 45 | 44 | 44 | 47 | |
| Prior qtr. | 40 | 43 | 43 | 39 | ||
| Made expenditure to train employee(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 11/2005 | 46 | 42 | 37 | 42 | |
| Prior qtr. | 38 | 39 | 40 | 39 | ||
| Capacity utilization - can increase sales 10% without new inputs | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 11/2005 | 53 | 53 | 54 | 58 | |
| Prior qtr. | 54 | 54 | 52 | 49 | ||
| Credit availability (last three months) | ||||||
| % All credit needs satisfied | 11/2005 | 39 | 42 | 50 | 37 | |
| Prior qtr. | 39 | 40 | 41 | 35 | ||
| % All credit needs not satisfied | 11/2005 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 | |
| Prior qtr. | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | ||
| % No credit needs | 11/2005 | 53 | 49 | 39 | 52 | |
| Prior qtr. | 47 | 49 | 47 | 53 | ||
| Mo. | Ill. | Iowa | Tenn | |||
| Prices | ||||||
| Purchasing prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 11/2005 | 63 | 62 | 69 | 64 | |
| Prior qtr. | 58 | 51 | 59 | 58 | ||
| Selling prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 11/2005 | 21 | 20 | 23 | 21 | |
| Prior qtr. | 18 | 14 | 15 | 13 | ||
| Miscellaneous | ||||||
| Involvement in start of another business | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 11/2005 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 10 | |
| Prior qtr. | 13 | 9 | 9 | 10 | ||
| Single most important business problem | ||||||
| % Weak sales | 11/2005 | 9 | 12 | 8 | 9 | |
| Prior qtr. | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | ||
| % Taxes | 11/2005 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 14 | |
| Prior qtr. | 9 | 13 | 10 | 13 | ||
| % Employee quality/costs | 11/2005 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 8 | |
| Prior qtr. | 12 | 8 | 8 | 10 | ||
| % Insurance | 11/2005 | 16 | 16 | 19 | 9 | |
| Prior qtr. | 20 | 14 | 20 | 19 | ||
| % Big-business competition | 11/2005 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 13 | |
| Prior qtr. | 13 | 15 | 18 | 11 | ||
| % Inflation/Rising prices | 11/2005 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 22 | |
| Prior qtr. | 13 | 11 | 11 | 13 | ||
| % Credit availability/Interest rates | 11/2005 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | |
| Prior qtr. | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | ||
| % Regulations/Red tape | 11/2005 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | |
| Prior qtr. | 6 | 9 | 9 | 8 | ||
| Missouri Quarterly Spotlight | |
| In general, how satisfied are you with the direction that Missouri is headed? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, not too satisfied or not at all satisfied? | |
| Very satisfied | 10% |
| Somewhat satisfied | 56% |
| Not too satisfied | 20% |
| Not at all satisfied | 9% |
| Don't know/Refused | 5% |
| Total | 100% |
| What is the single most important action you have taken recently to offset rising energy costs? | |
| Raised selling prices | 12% |
| Invested in energy-conserving equipment or vehicles | 8% |
| Reduced energy use | 32% |
| Absorbed costs with lower earnings | 17% |
| Reduced non-energy costs such as payroll | 7% |
| Other | 8% |
| Don't know/Refused | 16% |
| 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.
