Positive Growth Predicted for Michigan Businesses

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DETROIT — Business Leaders for Michigan, the state’s business roundtable, continues to forecast that Michigan’s economy will grow faster than the U.S. economy over the next six to eighteen months. The forecast is reinforced by 52 percent of BLM members planning to increase hiring in Michigan in just the next six months.

“Michigan’s business leaders continue to believe Michigan will out-perform the national economy over the next year and a half,” said Doug Rothwell, president and CEO. “The outlook has moderated as the global economy has slowed over the past six months, but the state’s top business executives continue to show confidence in Michigan as over half plan to increase hiring in the next six months.”

Highlights of the survey of Business Leaders for Michigan include:

  • 44 percent of business leaders believe Michigan’s economy will grow and none believe it will get worse. This compares to 64 percent of business leaders who forecast the U.S. economy will be about same over the next six months.
  • 60 percent of Michigan’s business leaders believe the state’s economy will grow compared to only 44 percent of business leaders who forecast the U.S. economy will grow in the next 18 months.
  • 52 percent of business leaders project that their companies will add jobs in the next six months in Michigan and over one-third believe they will make capital investments in Michigan.

The results reflect a survey of Business Leaders for Michigan’s 80 executives, the state’s largest private sector job providers that represent nearly one-quarter of the state’s economy.