SALT LAKE CITY — A new report showed that 93 percent of Utah executives surveyed believe that the overall economy will be at least the same or better in 2012 than it was this year. Nationally, 90 percent share that same sentiment, according to a comprehensive survey of nearly 2,000 organizations conducted for the Employers Association of America.
Respondents across the nation were more confident about their own business outlook than the overall economy, said Monica Whalen, president and chief executive officer of the Employers Council of Utah.
"There is an increase in optimism among company executives," she said. "Although Utah business leaders are more optimistic and gung-ho about the forecast for the 2012 economy."
While 32 percent of executives nationally anticipate the overall 2012 economy will be better than 2011, 67 percent of business owners expect increases in their own sales and revenue. In Utah, 92 percent of business leaders expect sales to increase or remain stable in the coming year, the survey stated.
Plans for significant new investment in employees, facilities and/or equipment were split, with 51 percent indicating that they would not make investments, while 49 percent of respondents were planning investments to improve service, capacity and/or revenue in 2012.
Whalen said that the greatest barrier to job creation, according to executives, was concerns about further economic decline.
Although 54 percent of the organizations reported that they do not plan staff increases in 2012, nearly 36 percent of the respondents do plan to hire additional staff, with most of those expected during the first half of 2012. These national results were similar to last year, she said.
"When you have people get away from their fear … that things are not going to get worse, then that opens up the rosier picture for the future," Whalen said.
In Utah, hiring is expected to slow in 2012 compared to this year, with one-third of Utah employers planning to increase staffing levels in 2012 compared to 45 percent in 2011.
The survey data indicated that employer confidence improved from a year ago with 70 percent of participating organizations actually giving pay raises in 2011 — up from the 59 percent the previous year.
"We see a similar pattern for the 2012 forecast," Whalen said. "Significantly fewer organizations are delaying or freezing wages and nearly 66 percent of those surveyed are planning a pay increase in 2012 — up 7 percent from 2011."
A minority of the organizations surveyed, 35 percent, froze or reduced pay as cost-cutting measures in 2011, the survey showed. Data indicated that of the organizations that froze or reduced pay in 2011, 29 percent plan to completely or partially restore pay to some employees in 2012.
"It’s significant to note that relatively few organizations plan layoffs with just 6 percent of respondents nationally and 10 percent in Utah making such plans," Whalen noted. “Interestingly, 39 percent of respondents have no cost-cutting measures planned for 2012 … a 5 percent decrease compared to last year’s survey results.”
She said the confidence indicated by the executives in the survey should be a positive sign economically for Utah and the rest of the nation in the coming year.
"The message is that most business leaders do not feel that it's getting worse," she said. "We're not going to recover quite as quickly as we hoped, but we will slowly emerge."
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