The eighth annual McDonald Hopkins Business Outlook Survey found that businesses are sky high on their outlook for 2018.
For the second consecutive year, nearly 80 percent of the respondents predict improvement in business conditions in the U.S. and their own companies. Results from the 2016 survey found that only 44 percent of respondents expected improved conditions.
This year, 17 percent expect significant improvement in U.S. business conditions and 61 percent look for modest improvement. In their own organizations, 20 percent expect significant improvement and 56 percent expect modest improvement.
As one respondent wrote, “deregulation and tax policies are the best thing to happen to our economy in 29 years.”
There are some concerns, though. From a list of 12 business challenges, respondents said increasing health care costs (38 percent), stiff competition (38 percent) and retaining profit margins (34 percent) were the biggest concerns, but regulations was fourth (26 percent, but down from 41 percent last year) and data/cybersecurity was sixth (23 percent).
In addition, only 27 percent of respondents said their organizations were very prepared for internal and external data security threats, with 58 percent somewhat prepared.
Although sexual harassment has been a significant subject in the news, 55 percent of respondents have no plans to change their policies and training. A quarter said they were already increasing their focus on policies and training while 21 percent said they planned to do so.
The survey of companies nationwide was conducted from Jan. 4-30, 2018.
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