Business Leaders Say Michigan Hit Bottom, Now Improving

Business Leaders for Michigan's fourth quarter survey of Michigan's leading executives' forecasts the U.S. economy will gain significant momentum by the third quarter of 2011 and the Michigan economy has bottomed out and is recovering, but at a slower pace than the national average.  

"The survey gives policymakers direct and valuable insight into what Michigan's economy will look like in the months ahead so we can improve our performance," said Doug Rothwell, president and CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan. "The economy, both in the U.S. and Michigan, is getting better. But this will be a modest recovery by historical standards and Michigan will most likely lag that forecast if we don't make significant policy changes. That means getting our fiscal house in order, reducing business taxes to make us more competitive, reducing regulations that exceed federal standards and refocusing economic development programs on helping existing Michigan businesses. If we fail to make these changes, Michigan will continue to get smaller and poorer relative to other states."

Executives of Michigan's largest employers continue to forecast that Michigan will experience modest improvement in hiring and capital investment over the next six months. The executives represent a cross-section of industries across Michigan and are in a unique position to assess the direction of the economy.

Highlights of the survey of Michigan's leading executives' include:

* 33 percent believe Michigan's economy will improve over the next six months. This is an improvement of 23 percent since the third quarter, but still one-third less than the national forecast. 
* 60 percent think Michigan's economy will get better 18 months from now. This is an improvement of 11 percent from Business Leaders' third quarter survey, but still 25 percent lower than the national forecast.
* 37 percent forecast increased hiring in Michigan in the next six months – nearly identical to the third quarter survey. 
* Most Michigan companies expect to perform better than their sector competitors.

Business Leaders for Michigan initiated the survey of its approximately 75 member chief executives in July 2010. Quarterly Economic Outlook Reports are available at businessleadersformichigan.com/research-and-reports.

Business Leaders for Michigan is composed exclusively of the most senior executives of Michigan's largest companies and universities, which provide over 300,000 jobs in Michigan, generate over $1 trillion in annual revenue and serve over 130,000 students.

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