December 2015: Firm self-identification as indicator of recession/recovery
What we asked:
How they answered:
The question assessed each respondent's perception of their firm's performance as a leading, lagging, or coincident indicator of improvements or declines in overall economic activity. With regard to declines in overall economic activity, 40 percent of firms perceive themselves as lagging indicators, 33 percent as coincident indicators, 19 percent as leading indicators, and the remainder were unsure. With regard to improvements in overall economic activity, 47 percent of firms view themselves as lagging indicators, 28 percent as coincident indicators, 18 percent as leading indicators, and the remainder were unsure.