A statewide survey of 500 companies found that 43% say their financial position has improved in the past year. According to the report released by Capital One, the same percentage of large businesses (defined as those with more than $10 million in annual revenue) and small businesses (those with less than $10 million in annual revenue) say things are better. Eighteen percent of small businesses say their finances are worse than a year ago, while 17% of large businesses say things have gotten worse in the past year. A third of large companies say they plan to increase spending on business development, up from 20%, who planed to make investments in the first quarter.
One of the factors promoting this investment may be the loosening credit markets; more than 83% of all businesses say they have access to credit or financing. That’s up more than 10% from the first quarter. Despite the optimism from businesses, consumers aren’t quite so rosy-eyed: 46% of people say jobs are “hard” or “nearly impossible” to come by. And only 15% of Louisiana residents plan to make big purchases, like buying a house or a vehicle in the next six months.—Timothy Boone
