The annual NJBIA Business Outlook Survey is loaded with numerous opinions on
hiring, cost of energy, supply-chain struggles and the impact of tariffs, but the answers
to three questions on affordability perhaps best describe the struggle so many
businesses face:
- Do you think business affordability has declined in the past five years? More than
three in four (77%) said, ‘Yes’; - Do you think lawmakers have done enough to address business affordability in
the previous 12 months? A whopping 81% said, ‘No.’ - Do you believe New Jersey has made progress over the last year in easing
regulatory obstacles? Only 10% said, ‘Yes.
NJBIA CEO Michele Siekerka said the challenges businesses face in New Jersey are
real.
On a national level, tariffs, or the uncertainty around them, proved difficult for some. And
on a statewide front, rampant energy cost increases also served as a strong and largely
unexpected deterrent to profits.
“We say it often that businesses need predictability, and some did not see those
challenges coming as it relates to energy costs, in particular,” she said. “These results show a great need for more pro-business policy amid declining profits and
expectations.”
Questions for the 67th version of BIA’s survey were sent to New Jersey business
owners and executive staff in September and October. It was conducted by Signet
Research.
The report is based on 569 valid responses. Most respondents were small businesses,
with 65% employing 24 or fewer people.
The report offered a mixed bag on hiring.
While 49% of businesses said it was a challenge to find workers, that number is down
from 55% in each of the two previous years.
Only 17% of respondents said they increased hiring in 2025, down from 20% in 2024
and 23% in 2023.
But, 24% said they intended to increase employment in 2026 – compared to only 12%
who said they are going to reduce hiring – resulting in a 12% hiring outlook.
That being said, the availability of skilled labor was only listed by 10% of respondents as
the most troublesome problem for businesses in N.J.
For the fifth straight year, the overall cost of doing business was listed as the most
troublesome (24%), followed by Health insurance costs (17%) and property taxes
(13%).
Siekerka, who has long been sounding the alarm on affordability and the cost of doing
business in the state, said she has hope for the coming year, which will see the
inauguration of Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill, who won convincingly in November by
attacking affordability issues.
Sherrill offered up a few economic plans at a BIA event earlier this fall. And at the recent
League of Municipalities, she said she is determined to create a state with opportunities
for success.
The group of business leaders at the League were optimistic.
Siekerka said that’s just what New Jersey needs.
“New Jersey is a notoriously high-cost, high-burden state to run a business and a
national outlier in many business tax categories,” she said. “While we are very
encouraged that the incoming Sherrill administration wants to help reduce costs and
burdens for small businesses, we are dismayed to still see legislation in Trenton that
challenges job creators of all sizes and feeds into the anti-business reputation we have
nationally.”
