Release Date: 09/ 01/ 2005
CONTACT: Gordon Dixon, (804) 377-3661 or Jim Brown, (615) 874-5288
Small-Business Owners Shed Light on Role of Immigrant Labor in the Commonwealth
RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia’s business environment, conditions and outlook are among the best in the nation, according to this quarter’s Virginia Small-Business ConditionsSM. The report’s data, which was released today by the National Federation of Independent Business/Virginia, provides an overview of small-business conditions within Virginia and compares them with neighboring states.
A net 62 percent (positive percent minus negative percent) of respondents this quarter said business conditions are “good,” up significantly from last quarter’s net 48 percent and among the best readings in the nation. Virginia’s reading bested neighboring Maryland (net 53 percent), North Carolina (net 43 percent) and Tennessee (net 40 percent). A net 41 percent of Virginia small-business owners said the business environment is “supportive,” up from last quarter’s net 32 percent and the highest reading in the nation. The figure surpassed North Carolina’s (net 38 percent), Tennessee’s (net 32 percent) and Maryland’s (net 21 percent). Bucking the regional and national trends, a net 27 percent of Virginia small-business owners said business conditions are “improving,” up from a net 20 percent in June. A net 73 percent said business prospects over the next several months are “good,” up from a net 69 percent last quarter and again one of the nation’s best readings.
“This quarter’s Small-Business ConditionsSM survey results are no less than astounding,” NFIB/Virginia State Director Gordon Dixon said. “While most states in the survey showed a leveling off or slight decline in results, Virginia’s economy surged forward. While some of this improvement may be a result of seasonal conditions, it’s apparent that Virginia’s small-business owners are confident in today’s economy and optimistic about the future.”
Small business, however, is eying inflation and rising gas prices carefully, Dixon said. Virginia small-business owners cited inflation and rising prices (15 percent) as their No. 2 business problem, up from 8 percent in March and 14 percent in June. Big-business competition remained the No. 1 concern at 17 percent while employee quality or costs was No. 3, rising from 9 percent in June to 13 percent this quarter.
Forty percent of respondents said immigrant labor is “important” to businesses in their area while 46 percent said it isn't. Thirty percent said immigrant labor “fills jobs that otherwise wouldn't be filled,” while 28 percent said the immigrant workforce has “no appreciable role” in their particular area. Only 7 percent said immigrants are “crowding out American workers,” and another 7 percent said immigrants “provide skills not otherwise available.”
For information about the Small-Business ConditionsSM project and other small-business research studies conducted by NFIB Research Foundation, visit www.NFIB.com/research.
| Virginia Small-Business ConditionsSM | ||||||
| This chart shows the results from Virginia and its comparative standing among selected states in the region. | ||||||
| Va. | Md. | N.C. | Tenn. | |||
| Business Climate | Survey Date | |||||
| Overall state business environment | ||||||
| Net % supportive of small business | 8/2005 | 41 | 21 | 38 | 32 | |
| Prior qtr. | 32 | 26 | 42 | 32 | ||
| Business conditions in market area | ||||||
| Net % "good" | 8/2005 | 62 | 53 | 43 | 40 | |
| Prior qtr. | 48 | 53 | 44 | 44 | ||
| Net % "improving" | 8/2005 | 27 | 16 | 14 | 6 | |
| Prior qtr. | 20 | 18 | 25 | 14 | ||
| Outlook for business | ||||||
| Net % "good" in next three months | 8/2005 | 73 | 65 | 65 | 62 | |
| Prior qtr. | 69 | 67 | 65 | 61 | ||
| Reason for optimism | ||||||
| % Sales prospects | 8/2005 | 49 | 43 | 43 | 37 | |
| Prior qtr. | 42 | 40 | 39 | 45 | ||
| % Lower costs | 8/2005 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 3 | |
| Prior qtr. | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | ||
| % Price increases | 8/2005 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | |
| Prior qtr. | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | ||
| % Greater productivity | 8/2005 | 9 | 14 | 18 | 16 | |
| Prior qtr. | 15 | 16 | 12 | 15 | ||
| % Government policy | 8/2005 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | |
| Prior qtr. | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | ||
| % Seasonal/Weather | 8/2005 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| Prior qtr. | - | - | - | - | ||
| Reason for pessimism | ||||||
| % Sales prospects | 8/2005 | IC* | IC | IC | IC | |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | ||
| % Cost increases | 8/2005 | IC | IC | IC | IC | |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | ||
| % Pressure on selling prices | 8/2005 | IC | IC | IC | IC | |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | ||
| % Lower productivity | 8/2005 | IC | IC | IC | IC | |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | ||
| % Government policies | 8/2005 | IC | IC | IC | IC | |
| Prior qtr. | IC | IC | IC | IC | ||
| Va. | Md. | N.C. | Tenn. | |||
| Sales and earnings (last quarter) | ||||||
| Sales | ||||||
| Net % sales "good" | 8/2005 | 56 | 49 | 50 | 41 | |
| Prior qtr. | 50 | 44 | 45 | 36 | ||
| Profits | ||||||
| Net % profits "good" | 8/2005 | 37 | 33 | 32 | 27 | |
| Prior qtr. | 33 | 27 | 32 | 24 | ||
| Employment | ||||||
| Current job openings (one or more) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 8/2005 | 26 | 22 | 15 | 20 | |
| Prior qtr. | 21 | 23 | 19 | 15 | ||
| Per employee payroll cost | ||||||
| Net % "risen" | 8/2005 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 15 | |
| Prior qtr. | 18 | 12 | 12 | 13 | ||
| Employee cost pressures (greater) | ||||||
| % Wages | 8/2005 | 58 | 53 | 54 | 59 | |
| Prior qtr. | 61 | 59 | 57 | 53 | ||
| % Benefits | 8/2005 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 24 | |
| Prior qtr. | 25 | 25 | 24 | 29 | ||
| Va. | Md. | N.C. | Tenn. | |||
| Productivity | ||||||
| Upgraded technology/processes (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 8/2005 | 43 | 45 | 44 | 41 | |
| Prior qtr. | 41 | 43 | 34 | 40 | ||
| Made capital expenditure(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 8/2005 | 41 | 40 | 43 | 39 | |
| Prior qtr. | 43 | 36 | 42 | 38 | ||
| Made expenditure to train employee(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 8/2005 | 39 | 42 | 42 | 39 | |
| Prior qtr. | 37 | 42 | 41 | 36 | ||
| Capacity utilization - can increase sales 10% without new inputs | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 8/2005 | 47 | 51 | 51 | 49 | |
| Prior qtr. | 51 | 49 | 49 | 56 | ||
| Credit availability (last three months) | ||||||
| % All credit needs satisfied | 8/2005 | 37 | 37 | 39 | 35 | |
| Prior qtr. | 43 | 45 | 39 | 43 | ||
| % All credit needs not satisfied | 8/2005 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | |
| Prior qtr. | 6 | 5 | 7 | 5 | ||
| % No credit needs | 8/2005 | 50 | 49 | 52 | 53 | |
| Prior qtr. | 45 | 40 | 48 | 47 | ||
| Va. | Md. | N.C. | Tenn. | |||
| Prices | ||||||
| Purchasing prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 8/2005 | 56 | 49 | 54 | 58 | |
| Prior qtr. | 50 | 47 | 51 | 52 | ||
| Selling prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 8/2005 | 18 | 18 | 14 | 13 | |
| Prior qtr. | 16 | 21 | 15 | 17 | ||
| Miscellaneous | ||||||
| Involvement in start of another business | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 8/2005 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 10 | |
| Prior qtr. | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | ||
| Single most important business problem | ||||||
| % Weak sales | 8/2005 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | |
| Prior qtr. | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | ||
| % Taxes | 8/2005 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 13 | |
| Prior qtr. | 11 | 9 | 10 | 11 | ||
| % Employee quality/costs | 8/2005 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 10 | |
| Prior qtr. | 9 | 11 | 8 | 9 | ||
| % Insurance | 8/2005 | 12 | 16 | 17 | 19 | |
| Prior qtr. | 12 | 13 | 17 | 15 | ||
| % Big-business competition | 8/2005 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 11 | |
| Prior qtr. | 18 | 14 | 14 | 15 | ||
| % Inflation/Rising prices | 8/2005 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 13 | |
| Prior qtr. | 14 | 11 | 16 | 14 | ||
| % Credit availability/Interest rates | 8/2005 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | |
| Prior qtr. | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | ||
| % Regulations/Red tape | 8/2005 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | |
| Prior qtr. | 6 | 11 | 5 | 8 | ||
| Virginia Quarterly Spotlight | |
| How important is immigrant labor to businesses in your area? | |
| Very important | 13% |
| Somewhat important | 27% |
| Not too important | 20% |
| Not at all important | 25% |
| Don't know/Refused | 15% |
| Total | 100% |
| Which best describes the role immigrant labor plays in your area? | |
| Provides skills not otherwise available | 7% |
| Fills jobs that otherwise wouldn't be filled | 30% |
| Crowds out American workers | 7% |
| No appreciable role | 28% |
| Don't know/Refused | 28% |
| Total | 100% |
The Poll
NFIB’s Virginia Small-Business ConditionsSM is a telephone survey of a random sample of Virginia 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.
