Area businesses experienced a positive second half of 2016 and are cautiously optimistic about the future, according to the results of Mercer University’s Year-End Middle Georgia Economic Outlook Survey.
 
The survey was conducted by the BB&T Center for Undergraduate Research in Public Policy and Capitalism in Mercer’s Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics, in partnership with the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce, the Robins Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Forsyth-Monroe County Chamber of Commerce, the Milledgeville-Baldwin Chamber of Commerce, the Jones County/Gray Chamber of Commerce, the Roberta-Crawford County Chamber of Commerce and the Wilkinson County Chamber of Commerce.
 
The BB&T Center and the partner chambers received responses to their electronic survey from 76 individuals. Dr. Antonio Saravia, assistant professor of economics and director of the BB&T Center, compiled the results, which can be viewed by clicking here.
 
“In general terms, businesses in Middle Georgia seemed to have experienced a positive second half of 2016,” said Dr. Saravia. “Despite a positive outlook for the economy in Middle Georgia for the first half of 2017, the majority of businesses do not identify this period as a good time to expand their operations. In addition, respondents continue to identify government regulations and/or red tape, taxes and the quality and cost of labor as the top obstacles to their business activities.”
 
Respondents represented considerable variety in terms of company size, geography and industry. Most were small businesses under 10 employees, which accounted for 37 percent of the total number of respondents. The majority had principal offices located in Bibb (46 percent) and Houston (27 percent) counties. Respondents represented a wide range of industries, led by professional and technical service (13 percent) and finance and insurance (12 percent).
 
The BB&T Center for Undergraduate Research in Public Policy and Capitalism conducts the survey and publishes its results two times per year.