The Business Forecast for 2016
“We expect 2016 will be a good year, with increased consumer spending driving economic growth,” says Sophia Koropeckyj, managing director of industry economics at Moody’s Analytics, a research firm based in West Chester, Pa. (www.economy.com).
Why the sunny outlook? Economists point to a number of conditions favoring businesses: Higher employment. Lower consumer debt. Greater credit availability. Trimmed gasoline prices. A more robust American economy. All should do their parts to help encourage stronger growth over the coming 12 months.
The most important contributing factor to a more robust marketplace, says Koropeckyj, is the growing health of the labor force: “Wage gains are now materializing across a number of industries and regions,” she says. That means consumers, a critical driver of the American economy, will have more disposable cash to spend.
Moody’s says unemployment fell to 5.1 percent in late 2015, a full percentage point decline over the level 12 months previous and a rate nearly synonymous with the 5.0 percent economists believe represents a condition of “full employment.”
“While there is still slack in the labor market, it is declining quickly,” says Scott Hoyt, senior director of consumer economics for Moody’s. “At some point in 2016 the labor market should become tight which should translate into faster growth in wages and consumer spending.”
Stronger economy
So just how good is “good” for 2016? The answer depends on how much consumers and businesses spend nationwide on goods and services over the course of the year. The faster the rise in that figure, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the healthier the economy.Making hay
Of special importance to all businesses is the performance
by one subset of the larger corporate world: Manufacturers. Any growth in that
sector has a dramatic effect on employment and thus on the economy in general,
since manufacturing is heavily dependent on a skilled labor force.
Again, it seems that manufacturers are looking ahead to a
2016 that will match or excel what has been a reasonably good 2015. “Conditions
are positive but are not robust or booming,” says Tom Palisin, Executive
Director of The Manufacturers' Association, a York, Pa.,-based regional
employers' organization with more than 370 member companies (mascpa.org).
“Manufacturers are doing slightly better than they were a year ago. They are
reporting low to moderate growth, solid orders, and a good backlog.” Low energy
prices are favorable for the sector.
Looking to 2016, Palisin says his members are “cautiously
optimistic.” A telling indicator of that optimism is a new initiative to
bolster the workforce. “One significant change is a move by many companies to
invest more in their training budgets,” says Palisin. Manufacturers are doing
so, he says, in response to a number of conditions: An improving economy,
several years of cost cutting that has led to a lean work force, and a lack of
available skilled talent along with low unemployment. “Employers now seem more
eager to retain the employees they have by investing in training of their
existing workforce.” That will translate into higher salaries and still more
disposable income in consumers’ wallets.
Manufacturers will be helped by a growing availability of
credit, which has loosened considerably since the tight years of the great recession.
“Rates are low and banks are willing to invest,” says Palisin. “However, there
has not been much demand for commercial loans because many companies have
sufficient cash on hand to finance their growth needs.” Others, he says, have
delayed capital investment due to economic uncertainty and a tough regulatory
environment.
Housing rebound
Businesses depend on a healthy economy to support strong
sales. And one of the most important drivers of a healthy economy is a robust
housing construction sector which employs more people and generates more
disposable income.
“The ever-tightening market for new homes will likely spur stronger construction activity in 2016,” says Koropeckyj. Indeed, housing starts are expected to rise 29.5 percent for the year, a considerable improvement over the 14.5 percent figure expected for 2015 when final numbers are tallied. (The rate for 2014 was 5.8 percent).
Why the spike in construction? The nation’s inventory of new
homes has been falling steadily, says Koropeckyj, to the point where builders
are now expected to perceive solid economic benefits in gearing up into higher
production.
The decline in inventory over the past year came about as
builders held back from constructing new homes, concerned that consumer demand
had not met expectations. That demand, in turn, was soft because, says
Koropeckyj, “many young families saddled with mountains of student debt were
opting to continue renting.”
Granted, some conditions will have to be met before the
housing rebound occurs. “The tightening housing market by itself does not
guarantee a resumption of single-family construction,” points out Koropeckyj.
“Household debt burdens will still have to fall significantly before the
younger families that are potential buyers of new homes start to return to the
market in strength. Even so, the U.S. recovery, with some outside help from low
gasoline prices and consequently low inflation, is pulling that date forward.”
The expected housing rebound should have a related effect: A
moderation in home prices. They are expected to increase by only 2.9 percent in
2016, a deceleration of the 6.3 percent expected for 2015.
Retail growth
Performance in the retail sector is yet another critical
driver for the American economy in general. And here, again, economists see an
improving picture in 1016. “We expect core retail sales to grow 5.5 percent in
2016,” says Hoyt. (Core retail sales exclude volatile revenues from auto sales
and gas stations.) That’s notably faster
than the 4.2 growth rate anticipated when 2015 sales are finally tallied. The
2015 experience was, again, slightly better than that the 3.9 percent growth of
2014.
If Moody’s is accurate in its forecast, businesses can
rejoice, as the anticipated rate is not that far off the roughly six percent
increases retailers commonly enjoyed during the robust decade of the 1990s, as
well as the period they fondly remember just prior to the great recession.
What will drive the anticipated retail sales increase?
Primarily higher wages, fueled by the growing number of people gainfully
employed.
Dark clouds
Challenges remain. Businesses should keep an eye out for
further developments in lingering issues such as the softening of European and
Chinese economies, a volatile American stock market, and political gridlock in
Washington. “Businesses prefer stability and consistency,” says Palisin. “And
right now we have anything but that.”
Even so, signs point to continuing marketplace strength. “We
think the economy should weather the current uncertainties,” says Hoyt. He
points to improving employment figures as the key. “A lot of our optimism
centers on the strength in the labor markets.”
A healthy jobs picture, then, should make all the difference
in 2016. “Early in the year businesses should watch what is happening with
wages,” says Hoyt. “If the labor market tightens as expected, that will lead to
higher wages and more consumer spending.”
