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60% of MEDCO survey respondents hired in second quarter
Marion Community Index measures challenges, opportunities
Some 60 percent of businesses that responded to the Marion Economic Development Corp.’s latest Community Index said, despite continuing worker shortages locally and nationwide, they’d hired more employees during this past second quarter.
That’s compared to 41 percent in the first quarter of 2022.
The survey is conducted to “measure the health, challenges, optimism and opportunities of the organization’s 190 business partners. The survey focuses primarily on sales growth, material pricing, and employment trends,” MEDCO said in a news release.
Among other responses from the survey conducted the week of July 11:
- 65 percent of businesses saw sales growth compared to the same quarter last year. That is an increase of 1 percent from the first quarter.
- 52.5 percent expect sales to grow in the next quarter, which is a drop of 26.5 percent from the previous three-month period. Fifty percent expect sales to grow in the next year, which in turn is a step down of 27 percent from the first quarter.
- 92.5 percent saw raw material prices rise over the past quarter, compared to 96 percent the quarter before.
- 70 percent expect material prices to continue to increase in the next quarter, and 72.5 percent anticipate that to continue over the next year, compared to 88 percent and 86 percent, respectively, in quarter one.
- 45 percent expect increasing their workforce in the next quarter and 60 percent anticipate workforce growth over the next year. That’s compared to 50 percent and 57 percent, respectively, in first quarter responses.
On their list of primary challenges, respondents noted:
- 32.5 percent — costs of materials/inflation
- 25 percent — supply chain challenges
- 20 percent — hiring.
“Although sales growth in the current second quarter increased again compared to the second quarter a year ago, we noticed a significant decrease in expected sales growth in the short and near term.” said Brady Quinn, MEDCO business retention specialist.
“The general sentiment is that actions by the Federal Reserve will begin to slow demand and therefore ease supply chain. Very quickly primary challenges will revert back to labor availability and retention.”
The Marion Community Index, updated quarterly, can be viewed at https://bit.ly/3zdhLCq.
People walk along the trail at a grand opening ceremony for a former railroad bridge that has been reconstructed as part of the CeMar Trail project in Marion in July 2021. (The Gazette)
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