Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce issued the following announcement on April 3.
Employing more than 25% of the region’s workforce, the Chicago-area middle market is a driving force in economic development and growth. This year’s annual Chicagoland Mid-Market Survey, released today and conducted by the National Center for the Middle Market in partnership with the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, reveals trends and concerns of this market’s C-suite.
Highlights of the 2018 survey include:
Revenue growth at 7.2% held steady from 2017. Nationally, the mid-market saw a revenue growth of 8.1%
Employment grew at 4.5% with 44% of businesses adding people
Local economic confidence grows to 82%, up 6% from 2017. Global confidence fell 7% to 67% and national confidence fell 3% to 83%.
Workforce growth projections increase with two out of five executives expecting to add more jobs in 2019 and at faster pace than previous years.
Revenues continue upward growth but will be at a more moderate pace with 63% of executives projecting positive revenue growth in 2019, up 3% from the previous year.
IT investments lead capital expenditures, but investment appetite has slowed slightly with more companies saying they will hold cash long-term or save for later investments.
Challenges remain, with executives citing core business issues (53%), talent management (52%) and costs (24%) as the top issues they face for the next year.
“Our region’s 6,000 middle market businesses employ more than 1.9 million people. Supporting their continued growth requires us to keep a pulse on the unique challenges they face,” said Jack Lavin, CEO of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. “We are particularly watching the need for recruiting and retaining talent, a core focus area of the Chicagoland Chamber and one of the pillars of our programming.”
This survey was conducted in 2018 with 1,000 CEOs, CFOs, and other C-suite executives on key indicators of past and future performance in revenues, employment and allocation of cash. It represents businesses with revenues between $10 million and $1 billion. For full survey results, please visit http://bit.ly/2JPhmzV.
Mid-Market Chicago is a program of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce that focuses on growing and supporting middle market companies (defined as $10 million to $1 billion in annual revenue) across the Chicagoland region through educational programming, networking events, and other resources. The program is made possible through generous support from BDO, BMO Harris Bank, Aon, DLA Piper, and Collier’s International.
Original source can be found here.
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