Release Date: 09/ 01/ 2005
CONTACT: Carolyn Logue, (360) 786-8675 or Tony Malandra, (415) 664-9685
Some Positive Numbers, However, Show Base Economy Sturdy
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Washington is still dead last among 26 large-economy states in its overall business environment, according to the latest Washington Small-Business ConditionsSM report released today, but some underlying numbers show a potential for rapid improvement.
As with all the reports, the Research Foundation of the National Federation of Independent Business, America’s largest small-business advocacy group, begins by asking Main Street business owners to assess the level of support they receive from the state’s business environment, which includes government, banks, media and community groups. Although Washington slightly improved its rating from the last quarter, moving from a net negative 4 percent to a net negative 1 percent, it now has the sole distinction of being the only state with a negative rating. Last quarter, California joined Washington on the negative side of the ledger, but the Golden State received a positive rating this time around. By way of comparison, Virginia racked up the best rating in the nation with a net 41 percent support rate.
“This rating indicates that Washington small-business owners are not comfortable with the people in charge of government,” said Carolyn Logue, state director for the 15,000-member NFIB/Washington. “If you look at some of the other indicators on this survey, it's clear that our base economy is holding steady (at a reasonably positive level). Washington policymakers need to start talking with small-business owners instead of just assuming they know what Main Street needs. These are not just NFIB members talking, but a random sample of all small-business owners across the state.”
Logue pointed to Washington’s ranking as fourth in the nation on the positive outlook small-business owners have in the coming months, sixth in the net “good sales” category, seventh in the net change in business conditions in their market areas, 10th in the net number who said profits were good and 13th in both improved business conditions in market area and job openings. “The engine of the Washington economy is just fine. What is lacking are the right drivers behind the wheel,” added Logue.
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.
| Washington Small-Business ConditionsSM | ||||||
| This chart shows the results from Washington and its comparative standing among selected states in the region. | ||||||
| Wash. | No. Calif. |
Colo. | Ore. | |||
| Business Climate | Survey Date | |||||
| Overall state business environment | ||||||
| Net % supportive of small business | 8/2005 | -1 | 9 | 28 | 13 | |
| Prior qtr. | -4 | 0 | 32 | 20 | ||
| Business conditions in market area | ||||||
| Net % "good" | 8/2005 | 42 | 44 | 44 | 41 | |
| Prior qtr. | 33 | 26 | 39 | 30 | ||
| Net % "improving" | 8/2005 | 19 | 16 | 20 | 12 | |
| Prior qtr. | 11 | 15 | 23 | 20 | ||
| Outlook for business | ||||||
| Net % "good" in next three months | 8/2005 | 67 | 66 | 64 | 64 | |
| Prior qtr. | 63 | 57 | 61 | 64 | ||
| Reason for optimism | ||||||
| % Sales prospects | 8/2005 | 44 | 42 | 44 | 44 | |
| Prior qtr. | 42 | 42 | 39 | 36 | ||
| % Lower costs | 8/2005 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | |
| Prior qtr. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | ||
| % Price increases | 8/2005 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| Prior qtr. | 4 | 6 | 3 | 4 | ||
| % Greater productivity | 8/2005 | 17 | 15 | 10 | 11 | |
| Prior qtr. | 13 | 15 | 18 | 16 | ||
| % Government policy | 8/2005 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | |
| Prior qtr. | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | ||
| % Seasonal/Weather | 8/2005 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 12 | |
| Prior qtr. | - | 13 | - | - | ||
| 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 | ||
| Wash. | No. Calif. |
Colo. | Ore. | |||
| Sales and earnings (last quarter) | ||||||
| Sales | ||||||
| Net % sales "good" | 8/2005 | 52 | 47 | 52 | 52 | |
| Prior qtr. | 44 | 31 | 39 | 45 | ||
| Profits | ||||||
| Net % profits "good" | 8/2005 | 32 | 31 | 33 | 34 | |
| Prior qtr. | 24 | 18 | 21 | 21 | ||
| Employment | ||||||
| Current job openings (one or more) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 8/2005 | 21 | 23 | 19 | 17 | |
| Prior qtr. | 15 | 19 | 20 | 18 | ||
| Per employee payroll cost | ||||||
| Net % "risen" | 8/2005 | 20 | 13 | 12 | 25 | |
| Prior qtr. | 23 | 13 | 14 | 20 | ||
| Employee cost pressures (greater) | ||||||
| % Wages | 8/2005 | 53 | 52 | 56 | 53 | |
| Prior qtr. | 48 | 49 | 53 | 56 | ||
| % Benefits | 8/2005 | 29 | 25 | 22 | 28 | |
| Prior qtr. | 29 | 26 | 27 | 20 | ||
| Wash. | No. Calif. |
Colo. | Ore. | |||
| Productivity | ||||||
| Upgraded technology/processes (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 8/2005 | 42 | 46 | 42 | 45 | |
| Prior qtr. | 44 | 43 | 47 | 43 | ||
| Made capital expenditure(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 8/2005 | 46 | 44 | 39 | 43 | |
| Prior qtr. | 39 | 38 | 43 | 41 | ||
| Made expenditure to train employee(s) (last three months) | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 8/2005 | 44 | 38 | 41 | 41 | |
| Prior qtr. | 40 | 39 | 45 | 40 | ||
| Capacity utilization - can increase sales 10% without new inputs | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 8/2005 | 53 | 54 | 52 | 54 | |
| Prior qtr. | 45 | 50 | 53 | 57 | ||
| Credit availability (last three months) | ||||||
| % All credit needs satisfied | 8/2005 | 36 | 36 | 37 | 39 | |
| Prior qtr. | 42 | 39 | 39 | 36 | ||
| % All credit needs not satisfied | 8/2005 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 7 | |
| Prior qtr. | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | ||
| % No credit needs | 8/2005 | 52 | 50 | 49 | 48 | |
| Prior qtr. | 47 | 47 | 49 | 51 | ||
| Wash. | No. Calif. |
Colo. | Ore. | |||
| Prices | ||||||
| Purchasing prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 8/2005 | 52 | 48 | 50 | 55 | |
| Prior qtr. | 59 | 46 | 34 | 62 | ||
| Selling prices (last three months) | ||||||
| Net % increased | 8/2005 | 19 | 20 | 17 | 20 | |
| Prior qtr. | 19 | 19 | 15 | 23 | ||
| Miscellaneous | ||||||
| Involvement in start of another business | ||||||
| % "Yes" | 8/2005 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 13 | |
| Prior qtr. | 9 | 12 | 12 | 8 | ||
| Single most important business problem | ||||||
| % Weak sales | 8/2005 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 10 | |
| Prior qtr. | 6 | 13 | 12 | 10 | ||
| % Taxes | 8/2005 | 16 | 10 | 11 | 9 | |
| Prior qtr. | 21 | 11 | 10 | 9 | ||
| % Employee quality/costs | 8/2005 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 10 | |
| Prior qtr. | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | ||
| % Insurance | 8/2005 | 12 | 19 | 16 | 17 | |
| Prior qtr. | 14 | 15 | 15 | 17 | ||
| % Big-business competition | 8/2005 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 14 | |
| Prior qtr. | 14 | 15 | 17 | 10 | ||
| % Inflation/Rising prices | 8/2005 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 11 | |
| Prior qtr. | 10 | 9 | 14 | 17 | ||
| % Credit availability/Interest rates | 8/2005 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| Prior qtr. | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| % Regulations/Red tape | 8/2005 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 9 | |
| Prior qtr. | 10 | 10 | 4 | 9 | ||
| Washington Quarterly Spotlight | |
| If you were to give your employees a compensation increase equivalent to $1 per hour, how would you do it? Would you give it to them in... | |
| Wages or salary | 60% |
| Health benefits | 9% |
| Retirement benefits | 3% |
| Paid leave | 3% |
| Some other way | 8% |
| Wouldn't give increase | 4% |
| Don't know/Refused | 13% |
| Total | 100% |
| If your employees could choose, how would they like to receive a compensation increase of $1 per hour? Do you think they would like the increase in... | |
| Wages or salary | 66% |
| Health benefits | 9% |
| Retirement benefits | 4% |
| Paid leave | 3% |
| Some other way | 3% |
| Wouldn't give increase | 2% |
| Don't know/Refused | 13% |
| Total | 100% |
The Poll
NFIB’s Washington Small-Business ConditionsSM is a telephone survey of a random sample of Washington 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.
