Release Date: 03/ 01/ 2005
CONTACT: Michael Fields, (803) 254-1476 or Jim Brown, (615) 874-5288
New NFIB Survey Indicates State Fares Well Among Neighboring States
SOUTH CAROLINA -- South Carolina's overall business climate is supportive of small business, according to the inaugural South Carolina Small-Business ConditionsSM report.
The report's data, which is the first compilation of its type, was released today by the National Federation of Independent Business/South Carolina. It provides an overview of small-business conditions within South Carolina and compares them with neighboring states.
A net 40 percent (positive percent minus negative percent) of respondents to a recent survey indicated South Carolina is supportive of small business. Comparatively, Georgia and North Carolina registered a net 37 percent and net 36 percent, respectively. In the Palmetto State, more than 53 percent said government officials, bankers, media outlets and community organizations are supportive or highly supportive of small business while less than 14 percent said those same entities are not supportive or not at all supportive.
"This Small-Business Conditions survey indicates an overall favorable climate for small business in South Carolina," NFIB/South Carolina State Director Michael Fields said. "These results are a tribute to the entrepreneurial spirit for which South Carolinians are known and the progress we are making in being viewed as a business-friendly state."
A net 55 percent of the state's small employers indicated business conditions in their market area are good while a net 28 percent saw those conditions improving. A net 70 percent characterized the outlook for business over the next three months as good, citing sales prospects (47 percent) and greater productivity (18 percent) as primary reasons for their view.
A net 24 percent indicated that profits were "good," and a net 43 percent of those same respondents characterized sales as "good." Overall, a net 49 percent of small employers reported that over the last three months their purchasing prices rose, while a net 16 percent reported they had increased selling prices.
South Carolina small-business owners ranked insurance their most serious problem, followed by big-business competition, rising prices and inflation, employee quality and costs, and taxes. Not surprisingly, employee health premiums ranked No. 1 as the most rapidly rising business insurance cost.
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.
| South Carolina Small-Business ConditionsSM | ||||||
| This chart shows the results from South Carolina and its comparative standing among selected nearby states. | ||||||
| S.C. | Ga. | N.C. | ||||
| Business Climate | Survey Date | |||||
| Overall state business environment | ||||||
| Net % supportive of small business | 2/2005 | 40 | 37 | 36 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Business conditions in market area | ||||||
| Net % "good" | 2/2005 | 55 | 52 | 38 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Net % "improving" | 2/2005 | 26 | 30 | 27 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Outlook for business | ||||||
| Net % "good" in next three months | 2/2005 | 70 | 73 | 70 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Reason for optimism | ||||||
| % Sales prospects | 2/2005 | 47 | 41 | 57 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Lower costs | 2/2005 | 4 | 2 | 4 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Price increases | 2/2005 | 4 | 6 | 2 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Greater productivity | 2/2005 | 18 | 15 | 17 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Government policy | 2/2005 | 4 | 5 | 2 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Reason for pessimism | ||||||
| % Sales prospects | 2/2005 | 14 | 9 | 14 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Cost increases | 2/2005 | 14 | 9 | 21 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Pressure on selling prices | 2/2005 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Lower productivity | 2/2005 | 14 | 0 | 21 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Government policy | 2/2005 | 29 | 36 | 7 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| S.C. | Ga. | N.C. | ||||
| Sales and earnings (last quarter) | ||||||
| Sales | ||||||
| Net % sales "good" | 2/2005 | 43 | 43 | 39 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Profits | ||||||
| Net % profits "good" | 2/2005 | 24 | 26 | 24 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Employment | ||||||
| Current job openings (one or more) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 20 | 20 | 20 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Per employee payroll cost | ||||||
| Net % "risen" | 2/2005 | 10 | 18 | 16 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Employee cost pressures (greater) | ||||||
| % Wages | 2/2005 | 61 | 57 | 57 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Benefits | 2/2005 | 23 | 27 | 24 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| S.C. | Ga. | N.C. | ||||
| Productivity | ||||||
| Upgraded technology/processes (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 41 | 43 | 41 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Made capital expenditure(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 42 | 39 | 47 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Made expenditure to train employee(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 41 | 43 | 48 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Capacity utilization - can increase sales 10% without new inputs | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 58 | 58 | 58 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Credit availability (last three months) | ||||||
| % All credit needs satisfied | 2/2005 | 41 | 35 | 40 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % All credit needs not satisfied | 2/2005 | 7 | 7 | 6 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % No credit needs | 2/2005 | 48 | 53 | 51 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| S.C. | Ga. | N.C. | ||||
| Prices | ||||||
| Purchasing prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 2/2005 | 49 | 48 | 54 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Selling prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 2/2005 | 16 | 12 | 17 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Miscellaneous | ||||||
| Involvement in start of another business | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 2/2005 | 13 | 13 | 17 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| Single most important business problem | ||||||
| % Weak sales | 2/2005 | 10 | 10 | 11 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Taxes | 2/2005 | 11 | 11 | 9 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Employee quality/costs | 2/2005 | 11 | 9 | 11 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Insurance | 2/2005 | 19 | 21 | 15 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Big-business competition | 2/2005 | 13 | 11 | 15 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Inflation/Rising prices | 2/2005 | 12 | 11 | 16 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Credit availability/Interest rates | 2/2005 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| % Regulations/Red tape | 2/2005 | 7 | 6 | 5 | ||
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | |||
| South Carolina Quarterly Spotlight | |
| Over the last year, which type of business insurance has had the most rapidly rising premiums? | |
| Vehicle collision and liability | 12% |
| Workers' compensation | 13% |
| Product or professional liability | 9% |
| Property and casualty | 10% |
| Employee health | 31% |
| Don't know/Refused | 26% |
| Total | 100% |
| Did those premium increases cause you to terminate or postpone planned business investments? | |
| Yes | 20% |
| No | 68% |
| Don't know/Refused | 12% |
| Total | 100% |
The Poll
NFIB’s South Carolina Small-Business ConditionsSM is a telephone survey of a random sample of South Carolina 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.
