Daily News

Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast Releases Business Trends Survey

AGAWAM — With close to 900 members concentrated in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast (EANE) unveiled the regional findings from the 2016 National Business Trends Survey conducted by the Employer Associations of America.

Results from this comprehensive survey of 1,242 organizations, covering 2,814 employer locations and 45 U.S. states, indicate that the majority of executives surveyed remain optimistic for 2016, are confident they will award pay increases, will provide a heightened emphasis on recruiting, and plan to increase training budgets that focus on developing their existing employees.

“Here in the Northeast, we certainly understand that regulatory compliance is a concern, and we are heartened to see more companies looking to increase staff,” said Meredith Wise, president of the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast. “We are also encouraged by the commitment of businesses in the Northeast to technology, processes, and people.”

The top three distinctions for the Northeast from the findings appear to be:

• Regulatory compliance is a bigger concern. In comparison to the national average, Northeast companies view the cost of regulatory compliance as a greater challenge, both in the short and long term. The data shows 32% of the Northeast regional responses expressing concern in the short term versus 27% of the national responses. On a long-term basis, 42% of the Northeast regional responses see regulatory compliance as a serious challenge, whereas nationally the average checks in at 34%.

• There appears to be a greater consensus on the part of Northeastern business to invest in technology equipment, lean and other process improvements, and training. All measures were responded to more favorably and at a higher rate than in comparison to the national norms. Overall, 70% of executives surveyed in the Northeast said they would be making new investments in people, facilities, and/or equipment in 2016 versus only 62% nationally.

• More companies are looking to add staff. While the majority of surveyed executives indicated that they would be increasing staff in 2016, a greater percentage of Northeastern executives — 59% — plan on adding staff when compared to the national norm of 52%.