Patrick Harker, Speech: Survey Results on the State of the Economy

“I invite you to delve deep into the survey results, which make for fascinating reading. But I also wanted to highlight just a few data points that jumped out at me.”

“First is just how much things have improved for chamber members over the course of the past year. The vast majority of survey respondents indicated higher levels of economic activity in 2021 over 2020. A full 56 percent of respondents reported either slightly or significantly higher volumes of new orders, and 72 percent reported slightly or significantly higher sales or revenues in 2021 over the year before.”

“Our survey respondents are optimistic that these trends will continue. Nearly three-quarters are expecting slightly or significantly higher sales or revenues in 2022 compared with 2021. Nearly 60 percent are either at or have exceeded their prepandemic employment levels.”