A majority of Upstate New York CEOs, 54%, believe the economy has worsened in the past year and only 19% of CEOs believe the economy will improve in the coming year, according to the 16th annual Upstate New York Business Leader Survey from Siena College.
Additionally, 38% predict there will be an increase in revenues in 2023, and 26% anticipate growing profits in the years ahead. Unchanged though from the survey from last year is CEOs intending to invest in fixed assets, this year 55% plan to do so. Why asked about inflation, 85% responded saying inflation is having a negative impact on profitability.
“It’s impossible to sugarcoat the findings of this survey. CEO confidence is down dramatically from a year ago once again reaching the low point we saw in 2020 and greater now only than during the Great Recession of 2008,” said Siena College Research Institute Director Don Levy. “Only about 1 in 5 CEOs now say conditions have been and will continue to improve while about half say the opposite – conditions have and will continue to worsen.”
The Poll was conducted November 2022 through February 2023 by mail and internet interviews with 530 Business Leaders from across Upstate including the Capital Region, Central/Mohawk Valley New York, the Finger Lakes region, the Mid-Hudson region, the Southern Tier region, Westchester and Western New York. Sponsorship for the 2022 Upstate Business Leader Survey was provided by The Business Council of New York State, UHY Advisors and HVEDC.
