What? Me Worry!

The doom and gloom on the local economy is not as pervasive as it appears to be when reported from a national perspective by the nation's press.

Over three-quarters of the 90 survey respondents among the 545 registering attendees participating in the Horizons 2009 economic forecast event expect their personal economic situation to be the same (55.7%) or better (22.7%) in 2009.

They didn't feel as much optimism for all their colleagues. Half (50%) expected the same employment levels in their company while a very rosy 20.5% expected more employees. But, 29.5% expected their firms to have fewer employees.

The outlook respondents' had about their firms was most cautious. Still, over two-thirds expected their company's fortunes to be the same (40.9%) or better (18.2%) in 2009. The most negative showing came with 40.9% expecting their firms to do worse in the coming year.