DETROIT, Mich., May 24, 2016 – The latest quarterly survey of Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM), the state’s business roundtable, forecasts that the Michigan and U.S. economies will continue to experience modest growth over the next six and eighteen months.
“Michigan’s largest job providers believe that both the Michigan and U.S. economies will continue to experience 2 to 3 percent growth over the next year or so, but are more optimistic about Michigan,” said Doug Rothwell, BLM President & CEO. “Our members have forecasted a continuation of modest growth. The latest survey indicates slow growth will be with us for over a year.”
Highlights of the survey of Business Leaders for Michigan include:
- Next six months: Most business leaders believe the Michigan and U. S. economies will remain the same over the next six months (76% and 69%, respectively) with some believing there will be modest growth (17% and 7%, respectively). This is slightly worse than the January 2016 survey.
- Next eighteen months: Less than half (43%) of the business leaders believe the U.S. economy will remain about the same over the next 18 months and 40 percent believe it will get worse. Only about 17% believe the American economy will get better. The outlook for Michigan was slightly better overall that the U.S with 18% believing the state economy would improve, 18% forecasting a decline and 64% predicting it would remain flat.
The survey also found more than half of the business leaders project their companies will add jobs and about one-third plan to make capital investments in Michigan over the next six months.
The results reflect a survey of Business Leaders for Michigan’s members, the state’s largest private sector job providers that represent nearly one-third of the state’s economy.
Quarterly Economic Outlook Reports are available at: https://businessleadersformichigan.com/category/data/surveys/.
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