The worst of the health-related ravages of the pandemic may be over nationally if you believe President Joe Biden. But the economic consequences continue to weigh heavily on local businesses.
As this week’s cover story reports, frustration is reaching a new high for those Rhode Island employers who’ve been in survival mode for most of the past 2½ years.
Perhaps most telling in PBN’s Summer 2022 Business Survey, for the first time since the winter of 2008 and the Great Recession fewer than half of respondents expect things to improve for their own business over the next 12 months. Their expectations for the state economy are also down sharply, at their lowest level since before the pandemic.
Looming fears of an inflation-fueled national recession explain some of the lost optimism that has marked local businesses throughout the 15-year history of the biannual survey. They’re worn down by ongoing supply chain and hiring challenges and rising energy costs.
Profits and business activity are also down compared with last winter and a year ago.
But growing frustration does not mean lots of businesses are ready to wave the white flag. Those in industries not facing pandemic-related headwinds continue to thrive, including real estate.
And while a shortage of qualified workers still vexes many employers, the percentage planning to hire next quarter is holding steady along with plans to purchase big-ticket items.
They’re the ones looking beyond the ongoing challenges, still focused on staying one step ahead of the competition.