Business Outlook in Houston for 2006 is Optimistic; Mayor White and Two of Houston's Leading CEOs Give Houston's '06 Economic Ou
06 1์ 2006 - 5:15AM
Business Wire
Administaff (NYSE:ASF) and IBC-Houston (NASDAQ:IBOC): Mayor Bill
White joined Paul Sarvadi, Chairman and CEO of Administaff, and Jay
Rogers, President and CEO of IBC-Houston, this afternoon at City
Hall to highlight the Houston business community's 2005
achievements and to share their 2006 economic outlook. Mayor White
opened the news conference by discussing the advancements made at
City Hall to improve the business climate in Houston. In spite of
the ongoing challenges brought on by the catastrophic hurricanes,
for the second year in a row the city's economy has shown progress.
Employment figures from October 2004 to October 2005 grew at a rate
of 1.8%; this is the fastest rate of growth since 2001 in both
total number of new jobs created and percentage. "We've added more
than 40,000 new jobs in Houston since October 2004," said Mayor
White. "Over the past year, City Hall has become more efficient and
business-friendly and the result is creating more economic
development opportunities for Houstonians." Sarvadi based his
comments on the results of Administaff's fourth-quarter Business
Confidence Survey coupled with Administaff's year-end employment
and compensation data. This analysis provided an optimistic view of
the state of business in the small and medium-sized sector going
into 2006. Sarvadi mentioned that more than half of the
Houston-area survey respondents indicated their intent to invest
more in their businesses in 2006 than they did last year and that
most intend to increase both salaries and hiring in the coming
year. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents, explained Sarvadi,
expect to experience more growth in 2006 than in 2005. "Based on
Administaff's year-end analysis of its Houston client base," said
Sarvadi, "average compensation is up by 5.0 percent in the fourth
quarter of 2005 compared to the same period in 2004, and average
commissions have increased by 9.6 percent. In addition, overtime
pay is running at 15.7 percent of regular pay, which is a clear
indication that companies are reaching capacity limitations.
Consequently, it makes business sense for them to hire more
employees." Sarvadi added, "The increase in commissions also
provides a forward look into new business pipelines, and based on
the numbers, the outlook is positive." For insight about how
Houston compares with the rest of the country, Sarvadi provided the
following data from Administaff's national client base of more than
4,900 small and medium-sized companies. When comparing the fourth
quarter of 2005 to the same period in 2004, average compensation is
up by 5.8 percent, average commissions have increased by 7.6
percent, and overtime pay is running at 9.8 percent of regular pay.
Rogers expects to see continued growth of small businesses in 2006.
According to his informal survey of small business growth patterns
and loans, he estimates that loan production is up approximately 30
percent over last year, with loans doubling from 2003 to 2005.
Rogers stated this "explosive growth" in small businesses has lead
to increased staffs at banks throughout the city to handle the
demand. According to Rogers this growth is due in part to
reductions in individual tax rates and business-related tax cuts
that involve an increase in the small business expensing election
limit. An additional factor for this growth is an increase in the
allowable bonus depreciation percentage, giving a business the
ability to deduct most types of capital expenditures up to $100,000
for the years 2003 to 2005. "Many factors contribute to an
entrepreneur's decision to make the plunge into small business
ownership," Rogers said. "Houston is seeing more small businesses
that are qualifying for loans and are becoming profitable quicker.
A good indication of this is seen in the number of new banks moving
into our area from out-of-state markets." Houston-based Administaff
(NYSE:ASF) is the nation's leading professional employer
organization, serving as a full-service human resources department
for thousands of small and medium-sized businesses throughout the
United States. The company's Personnel Management System(SM)
provides a comprehensive human resources solution that includes
employer liability management, government compliance, benefits
management, employment administration, recruiting and selection,
performance management, training and development, and business
services. For additional information, visit
http://www.administaff.com. IBC-Houston is a member of
International Bancshares Corporation (NASDAQ:IBOC), a $10.3 billion
financial holding company headquartered in Laredo, Texas with more
than 200 facilities and 300 ATMs serving more than 80 communities
in Texas and Oklahoma.
International Bancshares (NASDAQ:IBOC)
๊ณผ๊ฑฐ ๋ฐ์ดํฐ ์ฃผ์ ์ฐจํธ
๋ถํฐ 6์(6) 2024 ์ผ๋ก 7์(7) 2024
International Bancshares (NASDAQ:IBOC)
๊ณผ๊ฑฐ ๋ฐ์ดํฐ ์ฃผ์ ์ฐจํธ
๋ถํฐ 7์(7) 2023 ์ผ๋ก 7์(7) 2024