Optimism isn’t quite as high for small business in fall 2018 as it was earlier in the year, according to the most recent PNC Economic Outlook Survey we conducted.
Small and mid-size business owners were more optimistic this spring (50%) than they are this fall (40%). However, optimism is still far above fall 2017 (29%). Other key findings include the following:
- Hiring expectations are near a record high.
- Nearly two-thirds of business leaders expect increased sales, marginally less than this spring.
- More business leaders expect to rise prices in the next six months (45% vs. 29% in spring 2018).
- Eight in 10 are taking action to attract and retain talent.
- Four out of 10 business leaders support proposed tariffs and three out of 10 oppose, based upon what’s best for their own business.
Read more detail findings on PNC’s website. Compare the small business fall 2018 Economic Outlook Survey results to that of spring 2018. Finally, review the thought leadership work we did for PNC on retirement with this case study from 2012.
