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Benefits November 4, 2005
Health Care Concerns Remain for Small Businesses
November 4, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Results of the
Administaff Business Confidence Survey showed that cost and
availability of health care remains the top concern for small
business owners.
Reported by Rebecca Moore
In its release, Administaff said 68% of respondents said they expect more growth in 2006 than in 2005. While optimistic, s ome respondents said they are watching to see how economic and political factors, such as the rising price of fuel and the war on terror, may affect their businesses.
Respondents to the survey overwhelmingly said that making health care more accessible and affordable is the most important issue they are grappling with. The other challenges, listed in ranking order, are: curb rising energy costs, reduce taxes, ease the regulatory paperwork requirement, simplify tax code, and eliminate frivolous lawsuits.
In its compensation survey, the company found that,in a comparison of third-quarter data against the same period in 2004, average compensation is up 5.8% and average commissions have increased 7.2%. In addition, overtime pay is running 10.1% of regular pay. Further, 64% of survey respondents said they plan to increase salaries and 66% intend to add employees in 2006.
The Administaff Business Confidence Survey was conducted in late October. A random sample of chief executive officers, chief financial officers and other executives in a variety of industries at Administaff client companies across the United States were surveyed.
Administaff serves as a full-service human resources department for thousands of small and medium-sized businesses throughout the United States. Its Web site is www.administaff.com .