Chris Holman welcomes back Kurt J. Rankin vice president and senior economist for The PNC Financial Services Group, Pittsburgh, PA.

PNC’s latest semi-annual survey of small- and mid-sized businesses, which concluded Feb. 2, results are out, tell us about them?

Drill down on optimism for next 6 months?

So that optimism is for the overall economy and their own businesses?

How about profits?

PNC’s latest semi-annual survey of small- and mid-sized businesses, which concluded Feb. 2, shows that business owner optimism about economic conditions over the next six months has reached a 22-year high amid lessening fears of a recession.

Top-Level Findings

PNC’s latest semi-annual survey of small and mid-sized businesses shows that business owner optimism about economic conditions over the next six months has reached a 22-year high amid lessening fears of a recession.
A majority of those surveyed (55%) are highly optimistic about the national economy, rocketing up from 34% last fall and 26% a year ago. Four in 10 (40%) are highly optimistic about the global economy, up from 25% last fall and 9% a year ago. Nearly two-thirds of business owners (63%) are highly optimistic about their local economy, up from 47% last fall and 30% a year ago.

Optimism also runs high about their own businesses. Eight in 10 business owners (79%) reported that they are highly optimistic about the prospects for their own business, consistent with last fall (77%) and up substantially from a year ago (60%). Manufacturing led other sectors, with 81% anticipating better times ahead for their own businesses. Larger revenue ($20 million to $250 million) business leaders expressed the most optimism about the national and local economies as well as their own businesses, while smaller revenue ($100,000 to $3 million) business owners are the least optimistic.

The outlook on profits for the next six months remains steady, with just over half of those surveyed (52%) expecting an increase, midway between the levels recorded last fall (55%) and a year ago (49%). Few businesses anticipate decreases in profits (5%) or sales (5%) over the same time period.

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