For immediate release
Contact: Joey Lee, Media Relations, 215-574-3840
Philadelphia — Business conditions improved in 2018 compared with 2017, according to a new Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia survey of Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia members. Respondents also expressed optimism that conditions will continue to improve in 2019.
The annual survey, now in its ninth 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 2018, polled 113 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 in Philadelphia.
“Our study found overall sentiment among businesses remains positive — nearly 60 percent of the respondents believe regional business activity was higher in 2018 than in 2017, and 62 percent expect higher regional activity for their firms in 2019,” said Tashiro. “In addition, more than half (53 percent) of the respondents expect to hire more full-time employees in 2019, and more than two-thirds expect their company's sales or revenues to increase this year.”
When asked about the most important problems currently facing their businesses, the respondents identified wages, labor quality, and domestic competition 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.