Eastern Shore business owners and managers are more optimistic of the economic future than they were six months ago.

These trends are among the findings of the latest Eastern Shore Business Sentiment Survey conducted through a partnership with Salisbury University’s Business Economic and Community Outreach Network (BEACON), SU’s Eastern Shore Regional GIS Cooperative (ESRGC) and many of the region’s economic and workforce development professionals.

The July 2024 results represent the seventh report released by BEACON. The first survey in the series was conducted in June 2021, with subsequent six-month follow-ups and the most recent report in December 2023.

The survey included more than 50 questions, asking business leaders to weigh in on a range of topics, from general business concerns to conditions in their own industries.

Respondents evaluated business conditions locally, regionally, in the state and nationwide for the coming year. They also shared views related to their specific industries and on issues from labor supply to regulations.

Results include:

• The 12-month outlook for business conditions in participants’ respective counties is significantly better than in June 2023. When asked to predict the business conditions in their counties and the Eastern Shore, 66 percent responded that they believe economic conditions will improve, compared to 35 percent in June 2023. On a state and national level, 57 percent of participants believe economic conditions will improve, compared to 31 percent in June 2023.

• Respondents assessed inflation as the most significant barrier to expanding a business in their sector, followed by finances and funding, then labor force issues. The same issues were equally ranked as the top barriers to starting a new business in their specific sectors.

• When asked which cost increase in the previous six months had the greatest impact on the respondents’ businesses, they reported insurance had the highest impact, followed by rent and real estate then payroll and benefits.

• The majority of respondents (70 percent) have remote workers and 92 percent of those respondents say it has helped them with employee retention and recruitment. Of the firms with remote workers, the majority of the workers were in the county in which the business is located.

• A majority of responses came from company leadership, with business owners, presidents, CEOs and managing partners making up 72 percent of the participants. A total of 75 percent were from firms with fewer than 50 employees. Responses came from a wide variety of industries reflecting the economy of the region, with many respondents active in more than one industry.

Counties on the Eastern Shore will continue to conduct the survey every six months, with the data used to identify challenges facing the region, to assist in long-term planning and to guide the development of public policy.

Designed to gauge the opinions of the region’s business leaders, this survey is one of the tools that has grown out of the Eastern Shore Economic Recovery Project, a venture made possible by grants from the U.S. Economic Development Agency (EDA).

To access Eastern Shore Economic Recovery Project data, visit recovery.delmarvaindex.org. The complete Delmarva Index can be found at delmarvaindex.org.

For more information, visit www.salisbury.edu/beacon and www.esrgc.org.