A survey of Long Island business owners and executives finds that most are cautiously optimistic about the Island’s economy in the new year.
The non-scientific survey of 200 business leaders by the Hauppauge-based accounting firm AVZ found that confidence in Long Island’s economy was at a 6.3 out of 10, the highest since 2004.
Annette Esposito, marketing director of AVZ, says, “I think there’s great opportunity here, I think the stock market has certainly helped the optimism. There’s some strong consumer spending. Housing prices are increasing. So there’s a lot of different things that go into the optimism of what people are feeling right now.”
Thirty-five percent of businesses reported revenue increases of at least five percent in 2016, and 37 percent said they expect to hire more workers in 2017.
