The New Jersey Chamber of Commerce's biannual Baker Tilly Spring Economic Outlook Survey brings grim news for the state's lagging employment prospects: Fourteen percent of those surveyed said they were currently considering moving their businesses out of New Jersey. Ten of the 14 business leaders considering relocating their businesses blamed high taxes or high cost of living as their reason. Just four cited opportunities elsewhere. "It is no surprise that high taxes are at the top of the list," said Tom Bracken, president and CEO of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. "New Jersey-based corporations pay a 9.4 percent tax rate, one of the highest in the country. Despite that, some in the state Legislature last month proposed increasing the corporate tax rate again to 10.75 percent. We fought hard against it and thankfully Gov. Christie vetoed it."
In June, New Jersey's unemployment rate dropped 0.4 of a percentage point to 6.1 percent – the lowest rate since October 2008, but is still relatively weak compared with the rest of the nation: The national unemployment rate rests at 5.3 percent, according to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
There was also some good news in the Baker Tilly survey, which consults 100 Garden State business owners, CEOs and senior executives. More than four out of 10 respondents (42 percent) said they expect the state's economy to improve over the next 12 months, while only 16 percent said they expect it to worsen. This is an improved outlook from survey results a year ago, when only 35 percent of respondents said they expected the economy to improve, while 26 percent said they expected it would worsen.
And large majority of respondents — 82 percent — said they expect their companies will either maintain or increase their staffing levels over the next 12 months. Some 77 percent of the respondents said they expect their companies' revenue to stay even or increase.
Bracken said that the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce would soon be inviting state legislators to a business summit in Atlantic City from Sept. 17 –18 to offer solutions to regulatory and tax issues impeding business growth in the state. A formal announcement of the event is expected shortly.