A survey of about 150 CEOs in the Rochester area shows there is more optimism in the executive suite now than there has been in eight years.
The annual Upstate New York Business Leader Survey from Siena College finds that 40 percent of Rochester CEOs are optimistic. That's the highest rate of all the Upstate regions and the biggest jump from last year.
SRI director Don Levy believes the diversification of the local economy is paying off, and a lifting of what he calls the “post-Kodak hangover”, is starting to become evident.
"We're up now to 34 percent - slightly more than a third of CEOs in Rochester - say that they intend to increase the size of their workforce this year. That's approaching the type of numbers we saw before the recession. We saw numbers less than half of this several years ago."
The biggest concern for business leaders across Upstate is the Affordable Care Act.
"They wish it were repealed,” Levy said. “Almost three quarters of them say that piece of legislation is having a negative impact on their business, which makes their overall confidence all the more striking. In effect, they're saying, 'My business is growing. I feel better about the economy, not because of, but in spite of, government regulation."
Rochester area CEOs anticipate growth in the manufacturing, technology, health and education sectors this year.
Levy said there are some especially optimistic feelings about manufacturing locally.
"Over half of CEOs - 56 percent -say they're going to acquire fixed assets for their business. When you look at manufacturing, that number jumps up to 70 percent. So, seven out of ten manufacturers in Rochester are saying 'I'm going to invest in my business this year.' That's a very strong economic indicator."
Only five percent of CEOs statewide believe that the state government is doing a good or excellent job of creating a favorable business climate.
