The results from the third quarter Georgia CEO survey suggests that Georgia business leaders are feeling more optimistic about current business conditions in Georgia compared to the second quarter survey. The purpose of the survey is to better understand how general business conditions are impacting Georgia CEO subscribers both over the last three months and for the next three months. Georgia CEO partners with the Bureau of Business Research and Economic Development (BBRED), a member of the College of Business at Georgia Southern University, to prepare, distribute and analyze the survey. 

When asked directly for their outlook on Georgia business conditions, 47 percent of respondents expect their business situation to be the same over the next three months. This is in line with findings from the first sample collected in July. 

Going forward into the fourth quarter, participants reported being somewhat optimistic about the future business conditions. Participants are still expressing concern about government policy, shortage of skilled labor, lack of demand, and competition within their industry. 

Over the next three months, government policy and the uncertainty inherent within the election process are also commonly cited as influencing participants’ views, while seasonal factors may also increase or decrease a participant’s level of optimism. “Many participants are taking a wait and see approach to the November election. Regardless of the winner, participants will adjust their outlook going forward after the winner is known,” said Ben McKay, Research Specialist at BBRED. 

Approximately 25 percent of responses anticipated increasing their level of out-of-state business activities. This could potentially grow the Georgia economy by increasing the demand for goods and services produced within the state. Finally, 27 percent of participants work for companies that employ less than nine employees, while 24 percent of participants employ more than 250 employees. 

A convenience sampling technique was used for this study, and the questionnaire was emailed to subscribers from each of the nine Georgia CEO daily newsletters. These subscribers are located across the state of Georgia. All of the findings presented in this report should be viewed as a broad representation of how Georgia CEO subscribers view general business conditions within the state. Due to the sampling technique used, the results are not representative of the views of the entire population of Georgia. Georgia CEO publishes a newsletter in Albany, Athens, Augusta, Columbus, Middle Georgia, Newnan, Savannah and Valdosta. The survey was open from October 4 – 16, 2016, and 284 valid responses were collected.