Release Date: 06/ 01/ 2005
CONTACT: Ty Pine, (614) 221-4107 or Kevin Walter, (614) 221-4107
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.
| Ohio Small-Business ConditionsSM | ||||||
| This chart shows the results from Ohio and its comparative standing among selected states in the region. | ||||||
| Ohio | Ind. | Mich. | Pa. | |||
| Business Climate | Survey Date | |||||
| Overall state business environment | ||||||
| Net % supportive of small business | 5/2005 | 8 | 32 | 7 | 22 | |
| Prior qtr. | 27 | 21 | 18 | 23 | ||
| Business conditions in market area | ||||||
| Net % "good" | 5/2005 | 23 | 31 | 0 | 30 | |
| Prior qtr. | 34 | 31 | 15 | 29 | ||
| Net % "improving" | 5/2005 | 4 | 12 | -4 | 0 | |
| Prior qtr. | 17 | 15 | 16 | 15 | ||
| Outlook for business | ||||||
| Net % "good" in next three months | 5/2005 | 51 | 52 | 52 | 43 | |
| Prior qtr. | 68 | 63 | 55 | 63 | ||
| Reason for optimism | ||||||
| % Sales prospects | 5/2005 | 40 | 47 | 38 | 37 | |
| Prior qtr. | 39 | 55 | 45 | 39 | ||
| % Lower costs | 5/2005 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | |
| Prior qtr. | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
| % Price increases | 5/2005 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 4 | |
| Prior qtr. | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ||
| % Greater productivity | 5/2005 | 17 | 12 | 12 | 18 | |
| Prior qtr. | 19 | 17 | 14 | 18 | ||
| % Government policy | 5/2005 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 4 | |
| Prior qtr. | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| % Seasonal/Weather | 5/2005 | 13 | 13 | 19 | 12 | |
| 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 | ||
| Ohio | Ind. | Mich. | Pa. | |||
| Sales and earnings (last quarter) | ||||||
| Sales | ||||||
| Net % sales "good" | 5/2005 | 33 | 35 | 24 | 35 | |
| Prior qtr. | 36 | 28 | 21 | 36 | ||
| Profits | ||||||
| Net % profits "good" | 5/2005 | 17 | 19 | 6 | 21 | |
| Prior qtr. | 20 | 7 | 4 | 20 | ||
| Employment | ||||||
| Current job openings (one or more) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 19 | |
| Prior qtr. | 20 | 20 | 13 | 19 | ||
| Per employee payroll cost | ||||||
| Net % "risen" | 5/2005 | 9 | 14 | 11 | 15 | |
| Prior qtr. | 10 | 17 | 12 | 16 | ||
| Employee cost pressures (greater) | ||||||
| % Wages | 5/2005 | 52 | 55 | 52 | 51 | |
| Prior qtr. | 52 | 52 | 49 | 45 | ||
| % Benefits | 5/2005 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 31 | |
| Prior qtr. | 31 | 33 | 31 | 36 | ||
| Ohio | Ind. | Mich. | Pa. | |||
| Productivity | ||||||
| Upgraded technology/processes (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 40 | 38 | 39 | 43 | |
| Prior qtr. | 43 | 40 | 45 | 40 | ||
| Made capital expenditure(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 39 | 38 | 39 | 42 | |
| Prior qtr. | 42 | 42 | 41 | 41 | ||
| Made expenditure to train employee(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 35 | 35 | 42 | 40 | |
| Prior qtr. | 37 | 36 | 41 | 35 | ||
| Capacity utilization - can increase sales 10% without new inputs | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 50 | 57 | 51 | 52 | |
| Prior qtr. | 57 | 60 | 59 | 57 | ||
| Credit availability (last three months) | ||||||
| % All credit needs satisfied | 5/2005 | 36 | 38 | 34 | 43 | |
| Prior qtr. | 39 | 37 | 36 | 37 | ||
| % All credit needs not satisfied | 5/2005 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 4 | |
| Prior qtr. | 7 | 11 | 10 | 6 | ||
| % No credit needs | 5/2005 | 51 | 50 | 49 | 45 | |
| Prior qtr. | 50 | 48 | 49 | 53 | ||
| Ohio | Ind. | Mich. | Pa. | |||
| Prices | ||||||
| Purchasing prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 5/2005 | 51 | 57 | 50 | 59 | |
| Prior qtr. | 46 | 58 | 60 | 51 | ||
| Selling prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 5/2005 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 18 | |
| Prior qtr. | 13 | 16 | 17 | 20 | ||
| Miscellaneous | ||||||
| Involvement in start of another business | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 5/2005 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 11 | |
| Prior qtr. | 8 | 12 | 11 | 9 | ||
| Single most important business problem | ||||||
| % Weak sales | 5/2005 | 12 | 9 | 16 | 13 | |
| Prior qtr. | 11 | 11 | 13 | 10 | ||
| % Taxes | 5/2005 | 11 | 15 | 11 | 11 | |
| Prior qtr. | 11 | 13 | 13 | 12 | ||
| % Employee quality/costs | 5/2005 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 10 | |
| Prior qtr. | 8 | 11 | 7 | 11 | ||
| % Insurance | 5/2005 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 19 | |
| Prior qtr. | 14 | 16 | 17 | 18 | ||
| % Big-business competition | 5/2005 | 13 | 15 | 11 | 13 | |
| Prior qtr. | 15 | 15 | 13 | 15 | ||
| % Inflation/Rising prices | 5/2005 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 13 | |
| Prior qtr. | 13 | 12 | 11 | 7 | ||
| % Credit availability/Interest rates | 5/2005 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | |
| Prior qtr. | 2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | ||
| % Regulations/Red tape | 5/2005 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | |
| Prior qtr. | 10 | 7 | 6 | 10 | ||
* Insufficient cases
| Ohio Quarterly Spotlight | |
| In general, how satisfied are you with the direction that Ohio is headed? | |
| Very satisfied | 4% |
| Somewhat satisifed | 43% |
| Not too satisfied | 27% |
| Not at all satisfied | 20% |
| Don't know/Refused | 6% |
| Total | 100% |
| In what general area of the state budget are reductions LEAST warranted | |
| Education | 23% |
| Transportation and roads | 9% |
| Economic development | 14% |
| Health | 9% |
| Public welfare | 10% |
| Police and corrections | 8% |
| Other | 3% |
| Don't know/Refused | 24% |
| Total | 100% |
The Poll
NFIB’s Ohio Small-Business ConditionsSM is a telephone survey of a random sample of Ohio 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.
