1_LBBJ_August19_SectionA_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 8/17/14 3:34 PM Page 11
NEWSWATCH August 19-September 1, 2014 questions asked in the survey was how respondents’ incomes compared to 2008, the height of the economic crisis. The fact that so many respondents continue to struggle, noted the report’s summary, “highlights the uneven nature of the recovery.” While the report concluded that the majority of the population is making progress as the economy recovers, it added that challenges remain. Nearly half the respondents said they had given little to no thought to retirement savings and many said they plan to continue working into retirement to cover expenses. Many reported they had no retirement savings at all. “These challenges were exacerbated by the recession, which resulted in many respondents delaying their planned retirement,” the report stated. Further complicating matters, as well as making more vulnerable “a sizeable fraction of respondents,” were concerns over the ever-increasing costs of health care. One-third of the survey’s respondents said they had skipped some form of medical treatment over concerns of the costs of the recommended procedure. “Not surprisingly,” the summary stated, “the decision not to seek treatment was more common for those without savings, those indicating they were struggling with their finances, or those without insurance.” While the report’s findings weren’t all doom and gloom – more than 60 percent of those surveyed said they were “doing okay” or “living comfortably” – 25 percent said they were “just getting by” and 13 per-
Long Beach Business Journal 11 cent said they were struggling to get by. On the issue of home ownership, the summary reflected a more positive outlook – nearly 60 percent of those surveyed reported owning a home, and most expected the value of the homes in their neighborhood to increase in the next 12 months. Kimberly Ritter, an economist with the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, said there weren’t any big surprises in the Fed’s report. “It pretty much corresponds with what we’ve seen going on in the economy for quite some time now,” Ritter said. “Overall, households appear to be doing better, but there are some currents running beneath the surface that are leaving some people feeling uneasy, even if they’re doing okay.” Ritter said that she was particularly interested in the numbers accounting for low savings cushions and a lack of retirement funds, as well as low-income growth. She also pointed to the report’s findings on student loan debt, which pegged the percent of respondents claiming to have debt obligations either for themselves, someone else, or both, at 24 percent. “The fact that there was a fairly significant number [of people] who are having to curtail their spending in other areas in order to service their student loan debt, that’s something we’ve been tracking,” Ritter said. The report concluded that U.S. households for the most part appear to be stable but added that there was variation among respondents “along many indicators of economic well-being.” “Five years after the start of the Great
Recession,” the report stated, “A small but significant, core of respondents continue to experience economic hardship on multiple dimensions.” ■
New Study: Engineering Firms Bullish On Economy The American Council of Engineering Companies based in Washington, D.C., reports that 68 percent of engineering company leaders say the current business climate is better than last year at this time, and 60.5 percent say their backlogs are larger now compared to last year. The results are part of the council’s quarterly Engineering Business Index (EBI) released August 13.
According to the council, the EBI results represent responses from 340 engineering firm chairmen, CEOs and presidents. The results also show, “that engineering firm leaders are more optimistic about prospects in private sector markets than those in the public sector. At least half believe that opportunities in buildings/commercial (53.3 percent), land development/surveying (54 percent), and industrial/manufacturing (50 percent) will improve over the next 12 months. Expectations for major public sector markets were markedly lower. Only 41.5 percent of respondents anticipate improvement in the transportation sector, and only 40.9 percent for the water/wastewater sector.” ■