MetroWest495 Biz

MetroWest495 Biz | August 2015 11 BUSINESS CLIMATE SURVEY Some growth highlights But in MetroWest, economic improvement seems to be nearly universal in 2015: More than 95 percent of those who took the survey, a collaboration of MetroWest495 Biz, the 495/MetroWest Partnership and Framingham State University, said business conditions were bet - ter or the same compared to last year; more than 70 percent predicted slight or significant improvement in business conditions in the coming year; and 40 percent said they plan to hire more staff over the course of the next year. Harrison's own analysis showed that close to 60 percent of large organizations of 500 or more employees plan to hire between one and five percent of their current workforces — an improvement from last year when their hiring was closer to flat. But perhaps the most striking aspect of this year's survey was the feedback from respondents, which centered largely on the region's transportation infrastructure needs that, if met, would make the Me - troWest area an even better place to do business. MetroWest: A commuter's dream? Or nightmare? Executives inside and along the I-495 belt often hold the region up as a much better location than Boston and Cambridge when it comes to affordability and quality of life for employees, many of whom live in the MetroWest region and don't want to commute longer distances into Boston for work. But reading survey-takers' comments, one is left with a stark im - pression that area companies wrestle with commuting challenges that detract from the region's image as a suburban commuter's dream. The majority of those who contributed feedback at the end of the survey complained about transportation infrastructure, with concerns that in - clude highway congestion, road and bridge disrepair, and a lack of mass transit options for non-car commuters, particularly young professionals who make the reverse commute from the city. The survey results back up the comments: Together, public trans - portation and traffic are considered the biggest challenges facing busi- As optimism holds steady, Business Climate Survey takers call for better transit BY EMILY MICUCCI MetroWest495Biz B usiness growth in MetroWest is continuing the same measured pace in 2015 that the annual Business Climate Survey found last year, with companies expecting moderate growth in jobs and revenue throughout this year. Michael Harrison, associate professor of economics at Framingham State University, and author of the survey, said the results indicate continued growth for the MetroWest/495 area, which has a total payroll of roughly $19 billion and is home to one in every 12 Massachusetts jobs, according to the Westborough-based 495/MetroWest Partnership, a regional development group. "The economy has still been dragging … nationally, it hasn't been that great," Harrison said, citing suppressed wages as an ongoing national economic challenge. Q7 Q10 Q12 Would you say business conditions in the 495 MetroWest region are better or worse than they were a year ago? Better 54% About the same 41% 5% Worse Q7 Q10 Over the course of the coming year how will the economy in the 495/Metrowest region do? Improve slightly 65% 6% 4% Remain the same 24% Improve significantly Decline slightly Decline significantly 1% What is the single most important challenge in the 495/MetroWest region facing your business today? Availabiility of financing ...................................................................... 4.3% Cost of living ........................................................................................ 9% Energy costs ........................................................................................ 3.3% Government regulations ................................................................... 13.8% Health care costs .............................................................................. 12.9% Insurance costs ................................................................................... 2.4% Labor costs .......................................................................................... 8.6% Labor quality (skilled workforce) ........................................................ 14.3% PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION .................................................... 10% Taxes ..................................................................................................... 6.7% TRAFFIC ............................................................................................ 8.1% Other ..................................................................................................... 6.7%

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