Release Date: 03/ 01/ 2005
CONTACT: J.L. Wilson, (503) 364-4450 or Tony Malandra, (415) 664-9685
OREGON -- The most important segment of Oregon's economy – the small-business owners of the state who employ nearly 60 percent of all workers and generate almost all net new jobs – is in much healthier shape than its counterparts in neighboring states, according to a new survey released today by the National Federation of Independent Business, America's largest small-business advocacy group.
In compiling its Oregon Small-Business ConditionsSM report, one question NFIB asked small-business owners was to rank how supportive the state's business environment – which included government, banks, the media and community groups – was to them. Oregon racked up a respectable 29 percent net support tally, while Northern California had 17 percent, and Washington had a negative-9 percent rating. In fact, Washington's was the worst in this category among all 26 states surveyed. California was divided into three regions.
"This report gives Oregon fairly good grades, but not nearly enough for state policymakers to start patting themselves on the back," said J.L. Wilson, state director for the 12,000-member Oregon chapter of NFIB. "Although about half (48 percent) rated Oregon either 'supportive' or 'highly supportive' of its small businesses, an almost equal amount ranked it either 'neutral' (26 percent), 'not supportive' (14 percent) or 'not at all supportive' (5 percent). The message lawmakers can take from this report is that they can add fuel to this slow recovery by cutting capital gains taxes and holding the line on health insurance and workers' compensation costs."
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. Future surveys will be released on June 1, September 1 and December 1. On those dates, the survey will be compared to the previous quarter, as well as to neighboring states.
| Oregon Small-Business ConditionsSM | ||||||
| This chart shows the results from Oregon and its comparative standing among selected nearby states. | ||||||
| Ore. | No. Calif. |
Wash. | ||||
| Business Climate | Survey Date | |||||
| Overall state business environment | ||||||
| Net % supportive of small business | 2/2005 | 29 | 17 | -9 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Business conditions in market area | ||||||
| Net % "good" | 2/2005 | 39 | 41 | 36 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Net % "improving" | 2/2005 | 23 | 24 | 26 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Outlook for business | ||||||
| Net % "good" in next three months | 2/2005 | 66 | 66 | 67 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Reason for optimism | ||||||
| % Sales prospects | 2/2005 | 37 | 43 | 51 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Lower costs | 2/2005 | 4 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Price increases | 2/2005 | 6 | 5 | 4 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Greater productivity | 2/2005 | 14 | 13 | 16 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Government policy | 2/2005 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Reason for pessimism | ||||||
| % Sales prospects | 2/2005 | 31 | 5 | 27 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Cost increases | 2/2005 | 0 | 5 | 7 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Pressure on selling prices | 2/2005 | 15 | 15 | 0 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Lower productivity | 2/2005 | 0 | 0 | 13 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Government policy | 2/2005 | 23 | 35 | 33 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Ore. | No. Calif. |
Wash. | ||||
| Sales and earnings (last quarter) | ||||||
| Sales | ||||||
| Net % sales "good" | 2/2005 | 48 | 36 | 43 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Profits | ||||||
| Net % profits "good" | 2/2005 | 28 | 23 | 23 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Employment | ||||||
| Current job openings (one or more) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 15 | 22 | 20 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Per employee payroll cost | ||||||
| Net % "risen" | 2/2005 | 16 | 12 | 28 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Employee cost pressures (greater) | ||||||
| % Wages | 2/2005 | 55 | 52 | 55 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Benefits | 2/2005 | 24 | 32 | 25 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Ore. | No. Calif. |
Wash. | ||||
| Productivity | ||||||
| Upgraded technology/processes (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 43 | 41 | 48 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Made capital expenditure(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 48 | 39 | 46 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Made expenditure to train employee(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 42 | 39 | 43 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Capacity utilization - can increase sales 10% without new inputs | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 54 | 57 | 62 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Credit availability (last three months) | ||||||
| % All credit needs satisfied | 2/2005 | 39 | 38 | 36 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % All credit needs not satisfied | 2/2005 | 3 | 7 | 10 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % No credit needs | 2/2005 | 51 | 50 | 52 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Ore. | No. Calif. |
Wash. | ||||
| Prices | ||||||
| Purchasing prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 2/2005 | 54 | 45 | 54 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Selling prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 2/2005 | 22 | 18 | 22 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Miscellaneous | ||||||
| Involvement in start of another business | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 9 | 13 | 16 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Single most important business problem | ||||||
| % Weak sales | 2/2005 | 10 | 10 | 10 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Taxes | 2/2005 | 8 | 11 | 19 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Employee quality/costs | 2/2005 | 11 | 9 | 11 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Insurance | 2/2005 | 15 | 19 | 14 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Big-business competition | 2/2005 | 18 | 13 | 12 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Inflation/Rising prices | 2/2005 | 9 | 7 | 10 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Credit availability/Interest rates | 2/2005 | 3 | 5 | 4 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Regulations/Red tape | 2/2005 | 13 | 11 | 11 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Oregon Quarterly Spotlight | |
| In general, how satisfied are you with the direction that Oregon is headed? | |
| Very satisfied | 8% |
| Somewhat satisfied | 51% |
| Not too satisfied | 24% |
| Not at all satisfied | 11% |
| Don't know/Refused | 6% |
| Total | 100% |
| What do you value most in the area where you do business? | |
| Quality of life | 45% |
| Physical environment | 10% |
| Opportunity | 11% |
| Vibrance and vitality | 3% |
| My roots are here | 25% |
| Other | 1% |
| Don't know/Refused | 5% |
| Total | 100% |
The Poll
NFIB’s Oregon Small-Business ConditionsSM is a telephone survey of a random sample of Oregon 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.
