Business Pulse Survey Released

Each quarter Marion County Development (MCD) to participate in a new Quarterly Business Pulse Survey.  The purpose of the program is to identify trends within the competition for talent, business profitability, expansion and operational challenges which will assist MCD to address key issues and challenges that businesses are facing in a more timely manner.  “We plan to grow the number of businesses participating so we can provide data by type of business and size of business, stated Carla Eysink, MCD Director.  “This information helps us to know what is happening and provides businesses a quick 5 minute tool for sharing their challenges.”  Information each quarter will be provided to participating businesses and posted on marioncountyiowa.com.  Marion County based business are invited to participate in the process by contacting [email protected] .

Eighteen businesses participated in the survey for 2024-Q4.  These businesses represented 2,572 jobs within Marion County and 50% of them have expansion plans within the next year.  These businesses reported adding 49 jobs from October-December of 2024 while only eliminating 12 jobs over the same time period.  The businesses report having 49 current opens and 33% rate their current financial position as excellent.  Of the businesses participating, 78% reported that the quarter was profitable while 5% operated at break-even and 17% operated at a loss.  Projections for 2025-Q1 as far as profitability were very similar.  Businesses reported that their top 3 operational challenges were:  1-hiring & retaining qualified staff (50%), 2-challenging government regulations (25%) and 3- Reaching customers and growing sales (25%).  Go to marioncountyiowa.com to learn more.

Click Here to see full report.