California Business Minute™

The Bay Area Council released its findings of its Quarterly Business Confidence Survey
of Bay Area employers.  Four out of 10 Bay Area employers contacted in a survey
anticipate cutting jobs within six months, that is up from 26 percent in the last

The survey of 509 executives, conducted in the first week of November by the Bay Area
Council, found that business confidence in the nine-county Bay Area had slumped to its
lowest level since the group first began taking quarterly readings in the summer of 2001.

Bucking the gloom, 13 percent of respondents said they would hire over the next six months,
while 45 percent planned to maintain employment levels. Two percent weren't sure of their plans.

Construction and retail companies anticipated layoffs more than other employers - 60 percent
of construction firms and 50 percent of retailers reported that job cuts are likely over the next
six months.

The survey suggests that the credit crunch has contributed to the region's business malaise.
Nearly 1 in 3 companies said the tightening of credit was having a "very negative impact" on
operations, while 36 percent said it was "somewhat negative." About one-third of respondents
reported little or no impact from the credit situation.