EVERETT — A new economic study finds that most businesses surveyed in Snohomish County expect economic stability or growth this coming year and a majority expect revenues to increase year over year.
Everett’s Coastal Community Bank is working with Western Washington University’s Center for Economic and Business Research on the report.
“We think the perspective of businesses in Snohomish County is unique — it’s not always the same as that of Seattle-based businesses,” said Laura Byers, Coastal’s executive vice president of marketing. “So we wanted to get that perspective.”
The web-based survey was emailed to an estimated 1,276 county businesses in December.
Of those, 255 businesses responded within a three-week period.
The first survey was designed to provide baseline observations of the current business environment in the county and collect data for future forecasts. Coastal and Western plan to conduct the survey each quarter. Byers noted the stock market turmoil in January.
“Will we have a different feel in three months compared to what we had in December?” she said.
Key takeaways from the first survey include:
• 95 percent of businesses expect economic stability and/or growth in the county;
• 61 percent of businesses expect revenues to rise from the previous year and of those who expect revenues to rise, 46 percent expect the growth to come from new customers;
• 56 percent of respondents expect to invest at the same level as last year while 33 percent expect to invest more than last year;
• 62 percent of businesses expect growth in net profits over the next five years, 40 percent expect growth in employment, 45 percent expect growth in equipment, 32 percent expect increases in gross margin, 17 percent expect increases in square footage, while 17 percent do not expect any growth.
The survey also found that the level of optimism for businesses throughout the county remains high, averaging around 75.56 out of 100.
Business owners who would like participate in future reports can contact Coastal here. To see the full results, click here.
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