Business Leaders for Michigan’s quarterly survey of 70 of Michigan’s most prominent executives indicates that Michigan will continue to lag the nation’s economic performance over the next eighteen months, but modest hiring in Michigan should begin to pick up in the next six months. The executives represent a cross-section of industries across Michigan and are in a unique position to assess the direction of the economy. 
Highlights of the survey include:

• Most Michigan companies expect to perform better than their sector competitors.
• Approximately 42% forecast increased hiring in Michigan in the next 6 months.  Eighty percent forecast flat or lower capital investment in Michigan during the same period.  Both are improvements from the last quarter.
• 89% believe Michigan’s economy will be the same or deteriorate over the next 6 months, about the same results as the 3rd quarter survey.  100% think the US economy will be the same or get better. 
• 64% think Michigan’s economy will be the same or continue to get worse 18 months from now, while 100% think the US economy will be the same or better.  The Michigan outlook is the same as the 3rd quarter survey.

For more about the survey, click here. 

Later this month, Business Leaders will release its 2010 Benchmarking Report.

Two weeks ago, we announced our 2010 Legislative Agenda, which reflects the first phase of legislation necessary to implement the Michigan Turnaround Plan. These policy items begin to implement the first three steps of the Michigan Turnaround Plan – seen as the building blocks for the investment and economic development strategies that follow. 

Some of these goals may take longer to achieve, but Business Leaders for Michigan is committed to getting the legislative and policymaking dialogue process underway now. 

With Michigan’s 2011 deficit at almost $2 billion and growing through 2014, we believe structural budget reforms, like some of the items in our Legislative Agenda as well as others, must be passed and implemented as soon as possible.  We recognize that some of the needed legislation will draw robust debate, but we must find solutions to these difficult issues if we want to see our state turnaround.  This agenda is a framework. We will support these and other proposed solutions that support the Michigan Turnaround Plan.

We received another $200k appropriation from the federal government to launch the Detroit Creative Corridor Center this year. The Center will serve as the champion of the Road to Renaissance Creative Economy Initiative and will serve as a “hub” for the creative community by connecting creative businesses with business programs and services from around the region. This grant would not have been possible without the efforts of Congressman John Conyers, Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, and Senators Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin who all sponsored the bill. The funds will be used to help hire a director and fund the program for two to three years.

The Renaissance Venture Capital Fund is a Michigan-based fund of funds that supports the growth of venture capital in Michigan while serving as a bridge between Michigan’s emerging innovation company community and its strong industrial and commercial base. Through its investment in top tier venture firms that are active in Michigan, as well as its own co-investments in emerging Michigan companies, the Renaissance Venture Capital Fund is helping to drive forward both innovation and growth of emerging companies in the state. The fund had its first “hit” as one of the venture capital funds it invested in then invested in a company that got sold to Becton Dickinson. The payout will go to investors in the fund showing that you can actually make money investing in economic development.