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In the midst of the worst economic downturn in decades, Pennsylvania's job creators are cautiously optimistic about their economic future, according to the PA Chamber’s 21^st Annual Pennsylvania Economic Survey.

Conducted in the mid to late summer by Susquehanna Polling and Research, the survey of 650 PA Chamber member and non-member businesses reveals that employers experienced slight gains in hiring, sales and investments this year. It also showed that 18 percent of respondents believe that Pennsylvania's business climate has improved over the past 12 months, an increase from 8 percent last year.

PA Chamber members believe that these positive outcomes are a direct result of action by the Corbett administration and pro-business lawmakers, who have enacted several laws to encourage investment and job growth in Pennsylvania's private sector. These include the enactment of the Fair Share Act to reduce lawsuit abuse, strengthened language in the Unemployment Compensation Law to slow the growth of the insolvent UC Trust Fund, and the passage of an on-time, fiscally responsible budget that imposed no new tax increases on overburdened individuals and businesses.

Although the Commonwealth's job creators have a slightly improved outlook with these changes, Pennsylvania still ranks dismally low in recent polls rating business friendliness in state-by-state comparisons. Long standing barriers to economic growth continue to hinder Pennsylvania's private sector, including a disjointed tax system that burdens employers with the highest corporate net income tax rate in the nation, at 9.99 percent. As stated in recent public hearings, a rate reduction of even one percent will improve Pennsylvania's ranking by eight places, and yet will still be well above the national CNI average of 6.8 percent.

And lawmakers who understand the importance of creating laws that foster job creation and help make Pennsylvania more competitive are taking action. Additional legal reforms, efforts to tighten UC system accessibility, and an initiative encouraging that employee rights be recognized at union workplaces are among the several proposals that are on the move and could substantially improve Pennsylvania's business favorability and restore fairness and predictability to the state's business climate.

With high unemployment rates and a still fragile economy, business friendly policies must be enacted to foster the jobs and business opportunities that the Commonwealth needs to emerge from the recession. The PA Chamber will continue to lead these efforts on behalf of its members knowing that cautious optimism will give way to robust investment and a more vibrant and stable economy.

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Founded in 1916, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry is the state's largest broad-based business association, with its membership comprising businesses of all sizes and across all industry sectors. The PA Chamber is The Statewide Voice of Business.