SALISBURY, Md. - BEACON at Salisbury University has revealed the results of its annual Business Climate Sentiment Survey, and survey says: business owners are feeling less optimistic about their economic fortunes.
The survey asks business owners to finish the following sentence: "I predict that in the next 12 months, Business Conditions will be..."
The top response was "Better or Much Better" with 40 percent, but that was down substantially from July 2024 when 66 percent of respondents felt that way.
Bill Chambers, President of the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce says there are a myriad of reasons people may feel less hopeful.
"There's a lot of hesitancy between the federal government, what's happening in the state of Maryland with the budget crisis. We have, which is going to impact and already is impacting hiring and business expansion. So I'm not surprised at all by the results of the BEACON survey," he said.
Mitch Marriner is relatively new to the retail business scene, having been in business with 'Delmarva Homegrown' in Salisbury's downtown since last May. Marriner is feeling good about the future, but does have concerns about the prospect of new taxes being levied toward the business community.
"Additional taxes imposed on the business owner would eat away from profits and make it less lucrative to have a business and small businesses the lifeblood of not only our community and state, but the entire nation," Marriner said.
Maryland lawmakers are considering new taxes to make up for a nearly three billion dollar budget deficit, including a possible 2.5 percent sales tax on business-to-business transactions. Governor Wes Moore expressed sensitivity to concerns from the business community.
"Before running for Governor, I was a I was a small business owner. And so I, I have a particular sensitivity on how are we, what are the things that we are going to do to be able to make it easier for businesses to be able to come here and easier for businesses to be able to grow here in the state of Maryland," he told reporters during a news conference on Wednesday.
The survey was conducted before President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico. It is unclear what impact if any that could have had on business sentiment responses.
Some of the other key findings from the BEACON survey included 50 percent of business owners on the Eastern Shore expecting unemployment rates locally to remain unchanged over the next 12 months.
55 percent of respondents said they feel the U.S. economy is growing, which is down from 64 percent in July.