Expectations for sales and hiring dropped, too. Fifty-five percent of the companies polled expect revenue increases in the 12 months, down from 74 percent six months ago. Forty-two percent anticipate increased employment, down from 56 percent at the end of last year. The results mesh with other data suggesting moderation in Maryland's healthy growth of recent months. Maryland-based employment, for example, has stagnated for much of the year, according to the U.S. Labor Department.
Unemployment is very low.
Some analysts believe Maryland's official job-growth figures will be revised upward, as they have been for several years. Obviously, the consumers feel pretty good about what's going on in the economy. Maryland businesses continue to have trouble finding qualified workers, the University of Baltimore's survey found. Sixty percent reported labor shortages, up from 56 percent in the first quarter. Income tax rates remain businesses' biggest complaint about Maryland's economic situation, the poll found.