PROVIDENCE – Gov. Gina M. Raimondo is asking the business community to “double down” its investment into the Ocean State economy, saying the state has garnered momentum and indicators are beginning to point in the right direction.
But there was some tempered optimism among the 300-or-so business leaders who attended the 2016 Economic Outlook Breakfast held April 5 by Santander Bank and the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce at the Omni Providence Hotel.
According to a real-time survey, 59.7 percent of attendees believe the Rhode Island economy will do somewhat or much better in the next year, representing a gain of 6.6 percentage points compared with 2015. At the same time, however, optimism about the U.S. economy at-large has slipped 12.6 percentage points to 51.2 percent compared with the prior-year period.
The fading optimism could have something to do with a high level of concern regarding the upcoming presidential election, as 72 percent of participants believe the election will have an impact on their businesses.
There was also a slight decrease – 6.5 percentage points – in the number of respondents who thought their businesses would do better in the next year. •
