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Uncertain about Sales, Businesses Put Off Hiring
PITTSBURGH -- Only 17% of business owners in Ohio intend to add to their workforces in the next six months, 7% plan to lay off employees and 73% expect to make no change, finds a survey conducted by PNC Financial Services Group released today.
Nearly two in three, or 63%, responded that the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, had no effect on their decision to hire, maintain or reduce their workforces.
The fall edition of the PNC Economic Outlook found little change in attitudes since last spring among business owners in the PNC footprint. As their uncertainty over the tepid recovery continues, business owners are still playing their cards close to their vests.
This uncertainty over whether the recovery will gain in strength carries over into their reluctance to seek additional credit from banks. Only 15% indicated they “probably or definitely will take out a new loan in the next six months,” the PNC Survey found.
U.S. fiscal policy -- sequestration, or $85 billion in reduced federal spending -- has not slowed the recovery, 44% said, while 48% say it has hurt the pace of recovery. The survey was taken weeks before the government shutdown that began Oct. 1.
Last, PNC found that the housing market continues to rebound. “Building on the turnaround first seen in our Fall 2012 findings, 56% expect local home prices to rise during the next year, up from 39% in the spring,” the PNC Survey reported.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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