For immediate release
Contact: Joey Lee, Media Relations, 215-574-3840
Philadelphia — Business conditions improved in 2019 compared with 2018, according to a new Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia survey of Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia members. The respondents also expressed optimism that conditions will continue to improve in 2020.
The annual survey, now in its 10th year, offers a perspective on the region’s economic competitiveness and the issues that will affect the business community in the coming year. The survey, which was conducted in December 2019, polled 88 chamber members. Ryotaro Tashiro, a regional economic advisor with the Philadelphia Fed, presented the results today at the chamber’s Economic Outlook event at the Hyatt at The Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia.
“Our study found overall sentiment among businesses remains positive — more than 50 percent of the respondents believe regional business activity was higher in 2019 than in 2018, and 53 percent expect higher general activity for their firms in 2020,” said Tashiro. “In addition, nearly half (48 percent) of the respondents expect to hire more full-time employees in 2020.”
When asked about the most important problems currently facing their businesses, the respondents identified wages, benefits, and labor quality as their top concerns.
For more information, visit the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia’s website.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia helps formulate and implement monetary policy, supervises banks and bank and savings and loan holding companies, and provides financial services to depository institutions and the federal government. Serving eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that, together with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the Federal Reserve System.