Businesses upbeat about their future, wary about economy

Small and mid-size business owners are upbeat about their companies, but also a little wary about the economy, New Orleans City Business reports.

That’s the finding of a new survey released by researchers at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio Business School and Dun & Bradstreet Corp. The survey, which questioned nearly 600 companies with revenue of up to $100 million, found that nearly 80% expect to perform better in 2019 than last year.

Among the smallest companies, those with up to $5 million in revenue, 9% expect higher annual revenue, a slight uptick from 8.9% in a survey taken during the fourth quarter. But mid-size companies, those with $5 million to $100 million in revenue, are less optimistic about their prospects, with 7.5% forecasting higher revenue versus 8.5% in the previous survey.

The number of companies planning to hire in the next six months was up slightly and 31% said they did not plan to hire, down from 36% in the fourth quarter. But nearly a third of those who don’t expect to hire say uncertainty about the economy is stopping them from adding staffers.

The latest survey was conducted between late January and early February, as uneasiness about the economy was dampening small business optimism in other surveys and unnerving stock investors. Read the full survey findings.