The gloomy sentiment of the Worcester small business community adds fuel to the fire portrayed in early July by NerdWallet.com, a website dedicated to the technical study of personal finance. NerdWallet.com analyzed Census data to grade 62 cities in Massachusetts in terms of median income growth, demographics and employment figures, and the findings for Worcester do not paint a pretty picture. Whereas Bay State cities such as Westfield and Newton seem to be doing pretty well, Worcester is near the bottom of the list.
How These Surveys May Affect the Business Outlook
Although it may be safe to assume that business owners in Worcester are still hopeful that things will improve in the future, seeing the publication of surveys such as the two mentioned above certainly does not help the cause. Two main reactions can be expected from these surveys, and the most sensible would be for city officials and business leaders to take a good look at the data and work on turning things around. The other reaction would be more capitalistic and devastating for Worcester: Business owners migrate to Newton or other cities where the grass is greener.
Unfortunately, negative economic surveys tend to impact a city’s future in a negative way by discouraging small business growth. A living example of this situation is Detroit, a city that seems to go deeper into recession as a stream of negative reports are published. A more pragmatic and business-minded way to handle negative reports would be to exit the city, particularly if the data offers little to be hopeful about.
