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HARRISBURG, PA – Concerns about the economy remain paramount and have shown virtually no signs of abating since last year, according to the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry’s 20th Annual Pennsylvania Economic Survey.

Conducted by Harrisburg-based Susquehanna Polling & Research, the annual survey polled member and non-member businesses about their views of Pennsylvania’s business climate; the economy; past and future sales, hiring and investment activity; and other issues of concern.

“The results of the survey are not completely surprising and reflect the general mood of the business community nationwide,” said Gene Barr, PA Chamber vice president of government and public affairs. “Job creators are worried not only about the government’s ability to fully right the economy, but about the impact that policies being pushed at the federal and state level will have on the cost of creating a job and growing their businesses.

“This uncertainty is a big part of why private-sector job creation has not rebounded at the pace many had hoped or expected.”

In fact, according to businesses surveyed, only 12 percent reported an increase in the size of their workforces over the past 12 months, and only 13 percent plan to hire staff over the coming year – down from 17 percent in 2009 and now a new record low in more than nine years.

Since a combined 78 percent of employers say their workforces will either decrease or stay the same, this suggests that the state’s employers will continue to add jobs at a stagnant pace.

In the terms of Pennsylvania’s business climate, the survey results show only a slight increase in optimism, with a majority of employers yet to be convinced that the state has turned the corner economically.

Despite, or perhaps because of, the enactment of the federal health-care reform law, employers cited rising health-care costs as the biggest deterrent to job growth and a top legislative priority for lawmakers. By a more than 3 to 1 margin, businesses polled oppose the health-care law.

Job creators also overwhelmingly oppose the proposed Employee Free Choice Act, which would effectively eliminate the private ballot process for union elections, and force government binding arbitration on businesses.

At the state level, unemployment compensation reform and the stability of the UC Trust Fund is an emerging area of considerable concern (up 10 points from last year’s survey), with an overwhelming majority of respondents favoring reforms that will ensure solvency to the system.

“As the General Election approaches, the survey results highlight the significant challenges facing elected officials at both levels of government,” Barr said. “Economists may say that technically, the recession is over, but I doubt many job creators and residents take comfort in that pronouncement.

“Employers need to know that they can operate in an environment that enables them to effectively grow their business and create jobs without the intrusive arm of government hamstringing those efforts with over-regulation, burdensome red tape, and costly, misguided mandates. Until that confidence is restored, the prospects for a robust recovery will remain dim.”

Jim Lee, president and CEO of SP&R, unveiled the results at the PA Chamber’s Annual Dinner, setting the tone for the U.S. Senate Forum and Gubernatorial Debate that followed.

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Founded in 1916, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry is the state's largest broad-based business association, with its membership comprising businesses of all sizes and across all industry sectors. The PA Chamber is The Statewide Voice of Business.