Economy heading south, says increasing number of Northwest business owners

Union Bank released the results of its annual Small Business Economic Survey, and business owners in the Pacific Northwest, it turns out, “are more pessimistic about the national economy in 2016 than last year,” and “while they have strong confidence in their own businesses, optimism that their businesses are headed in the right direction has also declined,” the survey said.

Among the results:

▪  59 percent of business owners in Washington and Oregon report the national economy is headed in the wrong direction, a 15 percentage point increase over 2015. More than half also believe the state and local economies have worsened.

▪  Asked about their own businesses, 78 percent said they believe they are headed in the right direction, a 15-point decline over 2015.

▪  39 percent said the Pacific Northwest business climate has improved; 36 percent said it has worsened.

▪  33 percent said they were working “somewhat or a lot more,” and 16 percent said they were working “somewhat or a lot less.”

▪  In 2015, 13 percent of Washington and Oregon business owners applied for loans or access to credit, and 85 percent were approved, a 24-point increase over the past year.

▪  Concerning issues in this election year, 42 percent of small-business owners said the Affordable Care Act would most affect their business, followed by immigration laws (20 percent); equal pay (20 percent); and foreign trade (17 percent). When asked about the effect of the health care changes, 60 percent said they had no financial effect or had reduced costs, and 40 percent said the health care changes either somewhat or greatly increased costs. Eighty-seven percent of business owners said the Affordable Care Act had not affected employment at their companies.

▪  44 percent, said they are “not at all concerned” about the wave of baby boomers reaching retirement and the subsequent effect on their staffing.

▪  One in five owners planned to make a significant change in the ownership structure of their business in 2016. Within five years, 30 percent said, they planned to make a change in their business ownership.

This story was originally published March 2, 2016 at 9:18 AM with the headline "Economy heading south, says increasing number of Northwest business owners."