SBJ survey shows waning business confidence in uncertain environment

Representatives of area businesses are experiencing a decrease in confidence when it comes to the economy, with uncertainty serving as the primary culprit, according to the survey results for Springfield Business Journal's 2025 Economic Growth Series.

SBJ unveiled the survey results yesterday during an EGS kickoff event at the Judy Thompson Executive Conference Center at Drury University's O’Reilly Enterprise Center. The survey collected this spring covers business confidence, revenue trends, hiring forecasts and other business growth topics. 

Survey respondents were asked to state their confidence in the local economy compared with their outlook a year earlier. In the survey this year, 32% said they have decreased confidence, which compares with 16% in the 2024 survey and 23.5% in the 2023 survey. Increased confidence was reported by 24% of respondents in the 2025 survey, flat from 2024 and up from 19.5% in 2023.

Additionally, 28% of respondents said they expect the market for their business sector to worsen over the next year, which compares with 10% in 2024 and 22% in 2023. Respondents who expect the market for their business sector to improve decreased to 35% this year from 45% in 2024 and 42% in 2023.

Andy Drennen, vice president and senior portfolio manager at Simmons Bank Private Wealth, said tariffs are a major contributor to the optimism shift. He went over the survey results with SBJ Executive Editor Christine Temple at the event.

"It's really hard to model what your revenue is going to be if you don't know what the effect of increased costs are," Drennen said.

Temple further asked Drennen his take on the top five most important issues for businesses over the next five years as identified by survey respondents. Attracting new customers remained the top answer, with 62%, though the figure was down from 72% in 2024. No. 2 was talent acquisition and retention, at 49%, down from 62% last year; No. 3 was availability of skilled workforce at 46%, down from 53%; No. 4 was increasing wages to attract more workforce at 33%, down from 39%; and No. 5 was technology advancements and artificial intelligence at 33%, down from 42% in 2024.

Answers such as attracting more businesses to the Springfield region and local government fiscal management were up from last year's survey, with this year adding new answers such as tariffs and cybersecurity.

Drennen said some softening in the results from prior surveys is part of the uncertainty facing the market.

"What we need is policy consistency," he said. "We just don't know what the rules of trade are and what the input costs are going to be. If we can get some consistency with policy and know what the rules of trade are, I think some of that fog will be lifted."

During the kickoff event, SBJ Publisher Marty Goodnight additionally hosted a panel discussion with representatives of event sponsor companies Drury University, Bryan Properties, Buf Architecture Studio LLC, Emery Sapp & Sons Inc., KCI Construction Co., OakStar Bank and SVN/Rankin Co.

Jeff Childs, senior adviser for SVN/Rankin Co., said the region's "strong competitive advantage" was reason for optimism.

"I don't think it does you any good to worry, because worry creates fear and fear creates stagnation," he said. "We have a lot of strength here that you just have to stop and take an inventory of."

The 2025 EGS survey results are available here. The results will be unpacked in a series of six special editions starting June 9 with a look at the economy and continuing through Nov. 10 with an outlook. SBJ's EGS survey results date back to 2019.