Business leaders expect strong finish to 2015

Business leaders expect robust growth through the rest of 2015 although they are slightly less optimistic than earlier in the year.

{mosads}A July survey from the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) showed Monday that 59 percent expect sales will rise during the July-September quarter, a drop from the 71 percent in April who expected second-quarter sales to increase.

Meanwhile, 46 percent of respondents in the July survey reported rising sales at their firms in the April-June quarter, less than the 49 percent in April and 54 percent in January.

Expectations for hiring in the third quarter this year edged higher, compared to those in the second quarter, with 41 percent anticipating increases and only 10 percent forecasting declines.

The survey showed that 36 percent of firms reported increased employment at their businesses during the second quarter, up from 35 percent in April and 34 percent in January.

However, the percentage reporting falling employment increased to 12 percent from 7 percent in the previous survey.

Employers added 223,000 jobs in June while the unemployment rate declined to 5.3 percent, the Labor Department reported earlier this month.

Wages, which have been slow to rise during the recovery, also are expected to increase over the next few months.

Nearly half (49 percent) anticipate wages will increase in the next three months, up from 46 percent in the April survey.

Business leaders noted that they continue to have a hard time attracting new talent.

Overall, 35 percent of respondents said that their firm had reported shortages in finding skilled labor, up from 25 percent in the previous three surveys.

“The panel reports markedly increased shortages in the July survey, especially of skilled labor,” said Survey Chairman Jim Diffley, senior director at IHS. “One half of the respondents continue to expect rising wages going forward.”

Profit margins saw an uptick in the second quarter over the first three months of the year.

Looking at the broader economy, the majority of those asked continue to expect solid growth despite disappointing first-quarter economic data.

Four out of five respondents expect growth between 2.1 and 4 percent from the second quarter of 2014 to the second quarter of 2015.

The survey of 112 NABE members and other industry economists reflects second-quarter 2015 results and the near-term outlook and was conducted June 17 to July 1.