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AWB Members Upbeat About Business in 2005 |
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Written On: November/December 2004 |
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AWB members have a cautiously optimistic outlook regarding current and future business conditions in Washington, according to a survey conducted by Moore Information, Inc. in last August.
Here is what AWB members have to say.
The majority of current business conditions for member companies are considered “healthy,” with 9 percent claiming “very” healthy and 56 percent claiming “fairly” healthy. Still, only 35 percent of our members say their business conditions are unhealthy, 30 percent say “not very” healthy, while 6 percent say “not healthy at all.”
Members were more cautious about their expectations for the years ahead. A total of 38 percent are anticipating business conditions to improve in the next year, 52 percent to maintain the status quo, and just 9 percent to get worse.
More than 40 percent expect to expand their business and/or hire additional workers in the next year, while 51 percent expect to maintain their current status. Only 5 percent feel they will be forced to downsize and 1 percent feel they will have to close up shop entirely.
When it comes to current issues facing AWB members “economic uncertainty and business conditions” top the list of open-ended responses at 16 percent, followed by concerns relating to health insurance at 9 percent, government regulations at 7 percent, L&I issues at 6 percent, the tax burden at 4 percent, and transportation issues at the bottom at 1 percent.
In taking a closer look at the cost of doing business, the survey asked whether or not member businesses had experienced any cost increases in six categories; health care, liability insurance, workers’ comp insurance, unemployment benefits, taxes and permitting fees. 81 percent reported an increase in health care costs, while 67 percent say their liability insurance costs had increased. 58 percent cited that Workers’ compensation coverage premiums have gone up, but they were less likely to cite increases in unemployment benefits (45 percent), taxes (33 percent) and permitting fees (25 percent).
This survey was taken two months prior to the 2004 general elections. It found the political climate of the membership to be largely pessimistic. 65 percent of surveyed members said they felt things in the state were headed on the “wrong track,” while 26 percent said things were going in the right direction. Further, anticipated results of the 2004 elections were mixed. 30 percent of the members surveyed thought the impact of the 2004 state and national elections on Washington’s business climate would be positive, 23 percent thought it would be negative, and 20 percent said the elections will have no impact.
Looking ahead to the next legislative session, members were not overly concerned that the Legislature and governor will increase taxes and fees or cut programs. Instead, the majority of AWB members believe they will “continue to implement the priorities of government where funding of state programs is linked to available revenues.”
For the first time in AWB’s history, the survey asked members about the State Supreme Court and most members were a little more pessimistic about the impact on their businesses. 3 percent say the court’s influence has been positive, 45 percent negative, and 22 percent no impact. This is why AWB has initiated a judicial scorecard that focuses on every justice’s decision.
This survey found 66 percent of AWB members saying their regulatory burden has increased in the last five years, with regulations at the state level cited most often as being the most problematic (33 percent state, 12 percent federal, 8 percent local, 27 percent all three). Further, members have had mixed experiences with state inspectors. 21 percent say that over the last five years, state inspectors have been more apt to work with businesses, while just as many say inspectors have been less cooperative. 26 percent say there has been no change, but 33 percent of the members failed to answer this question.
Asked to prioritize 12 issues for AWB, members stated that “controlling health care costs” comes out on top with 53 percent. This was followed by “curbing lawsuit abuse” at 35 percent, “holding the line on the state budget and taxes” at 33 percent, “reforming workers’ compensation” at 33 percent, and “reducing the number of state regulations/eliminate unnecessary regulations” at 27 percent.
In terms of advancing AWB's agenda, the majority of members did not want AWB to skip the legislative process. Instead, most of those with an opinion would prefer that AWB employ a combination of conducting initiatives to the Legislature, and working through the legislative process.
Moore administered the surveys online to 2,250 AWB members, with a total of 323 members participating.
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