Chicago, IL – Employing more than 25% of the region’s workforce, the Chicago-area middle market is a driving force in economic development and growth. This year’s annual Chicagoland Mid-Market Survey, released today and conducted by the National Center for the Middle Market in partnership with the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, reveals trends and concerns of this market’s C-suite.

Highlights of the 2018 survey include:

  • Revenue growth at 7.2% held steady from 2017. Nationally, the mid-market saw a revenue growth of 8.1%
  • Employment grew at 4.5% with 44% of businesses adding people
  • Local economic confidence grows to 82%, up 6% from 2017. Global confidence fell 7% to 67% and national confidence fell 3% to 83%.
  • Workforce growth projections increase with two out of five executives expecting to add more jobs in 2019 and at faster pace than previous years.
  • Revenues continue upward growth but will be at a more moderate pace with 63% of executives projecting positive revenue growth in 2019, up 3% from the previous year.
  • IT investments lead capital expenditures, but investment appetite has slowed slightly with more companies saying they will hold cash long-term or save for later investments.
  • Challenges remain, with executives citing core business issues (53%), talent management (52%) and costs (24%) as the top issues they face for the next year.

“Our region’s 6,000 middle market businesses employ more than 1.9 million people. Supporting their continued growth requires us to keep a pulse on the unique challenges they face,” said Jack Lavin, CEO of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. “We are particularly watching the need for recruiting and retaining talent, a core focus area of the Chicagoland Chamber and one of the pillars of our programming.”

This survey was conducted in 2018 with 1,000 CEOs, CFOs, and other C-suite executives on key indicators of past and future performance in revenues, employment and allocation of cash. It represents businesses with revenues between $10 million and $1 billion. For full survey results, please visit http://bit.ly/2JPhmzV.