Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Firms report rising sales, hiring

2nd quarter leaves U.S. businesses optimistic into fall

-

DETROIT — Rising sales helped improve hiring and wages at U.S. businesses in the second quarter, and companies are optimistic that the trends will continue this fall, according to a survey by the National Associatio­n for Business Economics.

Fifty-seven percent of the 85 respondent­s to the quarterly survey said sales at their companies rose in the April-June period. That was up from 53 percent in the first quarter and 35 percent in the same period a year ago. Just 5 percent of firms said sales fell during the second quarter.

Respondent­s also said the outlook for the July-October period is strong. Fifty-nine percent of respondent­s said they expect sales to increase during the third quarter, and just 1 percent expects sales to decline. Respondent­s from the finance, insurance and real estate sector were most optimistic about sales increases, while the service sector lagged.

As sales picked up, so did hiring. Thirty-six percent of firms said they hired more workers during the second quarter, up from 28 percent in the first quarter and 29 percent in the second quarter of 2013.

The employment outlook was steady, with 37 percent of respondent­s expecting their companies to hire more workers in the July-October period. Finance, insurance and real estate companies were most likely to say they expect employment increases, at 48 percent; service companies were the least likely, at 28 percent. Less than 10 percent of respondent­s expect employment declines in the third quarter.

For the first time since October 2012, no respondent­s reported falling wages. Fortythree percent said their firms raised wages during the second quarter, which was double the share that reported raising wages during the same time period a year ago. More than one-third of respondent­s — 35 percent — expected wages to continue to increase in the third quarter.

Hiring and wage increases hit companies’ profits. Just 27 percent of respondent­s said their firms’ profit margins rose in the second quarter, down

from 32 percent in the first quarter. Despite the slowdown, manufactur­ers and financial companies both said they expect margins to grow at a faster pace in the third quarter.

Some companies improved their margins by raising prices. Twenty-five percent of respondent­s said their businesses raised prices in the second quarter, up from 20 percent in the two previous quarters. Eight percent said prices fell, up from 3 percent in the first quarter.

Technology and communicat­ions companies and manufactur­ers said prices were up during the quarter, while service companies and finance companies said prices were softer. Nearly three-quarters of respondent­s expect no change in the prices their firms will charge in the third quarter.

The quarterly survey by the National Associatio­n for Business Economics is intended to gauge business conditions at members’ firms or industries. Almost half the respondent­s are from companies with more than 1,000 employees.

Retail sales showed a broadbased gain in June, the Commerce Department said last week. Purchases increased 0.2 percent after a 0.5 percent advance in May that was larger than previously reported. The report for June was restrained by a drop among auto dealers.

 ?? AP/ALAN DIAZ ?? Job seekers check out the employment opportunit­ies at a job fair for military veterans in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Wednesday. Fiftyseven percent of the respondent­s to a survey by the National Associatio­n for Business Economics reported sales increases...
AP/ALAN DIAZ Job seekers check out the employment opportunit­ies at a job fair for military veterans in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Wednesday. Fiftyseven percent of the respondent­s to a survey by the National Associatio­n for Business Economics reported sales increases...

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States