COMPANIES IN THE HARTFORD-SPRINGFIELD REGION CHANGING OPERATIONS TO SURVIVE RECESSION

The recession has taken a toll on businesses across the country, and Hartford-Springfield firms are no exception: 83 percent report that the recession has had a direct negative effect on their business. To remain competitive many businesses in the interstate region have postponed capital spending (48 percent), cut their workforce (45 percent) or initiated hiring or pay freezes (39 percent), and only a handful (9 percent) have raised prices. In fact, more businesses have lowered prices to boost demand, and almost half (49 percent) have increased marketing efforts to prepare for recovery when the economy bounces back.

Those are some of the key findings in the 2009 Hartford-Springfield Regional Business Survey. Commissioned by the Hartford-Springfield Economic Partnership (HSEP), the survey was conducted by the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA), and sponsored by Comcast Business Class and Kostin, Ruffkess & Co. It is a follow-up to the first survey in 2007.  Download the survey results below.