The fact that business leaders are not optimistic about a turn around in the U.S. economy has been voiced at several forums. But a recent survey reveals that they are equally pessimistic about the growth of their businesses over the next six months.
Only 20 percent business leaders polled by Grant Thornton are “very optimistic” about the growth of their business in the next six months. This is down from 38 percent who were very optimistic in 2002 and 28 percent in 2006.
Another 20 percent believe that the U.S. economy will continue to worsen. In fact, opinion of business leaders on the future of the U.S. economy has been steadily deteriorating since 2002. Then, only 2 percent believed the economy will worsen, but by 2006 the percentage of leaders who lost faith in the economy had climbed to 15 percent.
With such pessimism comes a drop in plans to hire staff. While in 2006, 53 percent respondents polled said that they would increase staff in the following six months, this fell to 43 percent in 2007.
Overall, the optimism of business leaders has dropped from 64.1 in 2006 to 59.5 in 2007. This is the lowest it has been since Grant Thornton introduced the Business Optimism Index 2002. The Index has been declining since it hit an all time high of 75.6 in 2003.
| Comparisons |
May 2002 |
Nov. 2006 |
June 2007 |
| Business Optimism Index |
75.5 |
64.1 |
59.5 |
| Believe U.S. economy will improve |
80% |
30% |
24% |
| Believe U.S. economy will worsen |
2% |
15% |
20% |
| “Very optimistic” about own business |
38% |
28% |
20% |
| “Somewhat optimistic” about own business |
54% |
56% |
60% |
| Increase staff |
46% |
53% |
45% |
Source: Grant Thornton
