Businesses in Milwaukee and Waukesha counties expect economic improvements in 2009, according to a report released this morning by Madison-based First Business Bank, Carroll University of Waukesha and the University of Wisconsin-Madison's A.C. Nielsen Center of Marketing Research.

The results of the report were issued earlier this morning at Carroll University at the First Business Economic Forum.

Carroll University's Greg Kuhlemeyer, dean of the division of professional and graduate studies, and Matthias Bullmus, assistant professor of business, presented the findings and discussed the implications of the survey.

"It's important to realize that this survey was conducted in October, so things may have changed slightly based on the last few months," Kuhlemeyer said. "However, based on the data collected, it looks like we are close to seeing a bottom sometime in 2009."

According to the survey, the retail sector was hit harder than other industries due to high gas prices, higher operating costs and the need to pass on those price increases to the consumer.

"Local firms that sell specifically to Milwaukee and Waukesha areas are, in general, underperforming local firms that sell to a broader national and international region," Kuhlemeyer said.

The survey results also indicated that the technology and manufacturing sectors show strength going in to 2009.

The survey asked questions of Milwaukee and Waukesha County's business executives and owners regarding eight key economic indicators: sales revenue, profitability, total operating costs as a percentage of revenue, capital expenditures, number of employees, overall wage change, change in pricing and operating capacity.

The survey also asked questions regarding changes in expenses, and the impact of the housing market slowdown. The report is based on responses from 495 businesses.

The presentation of the data was followed by a roundtable discussion featuring business executives, including: Cliff Anglewicz, chief executive officer of Yale Equipment Services Inc., Menomonee Falls; Sue Marks, CEO of Pinstripe Inc., Brookfield; Rob Parry, CEO of ZBB Energy Corp., Menomonee Falls; and John Pence, CEO of W.J. Pence Company.

"We are very optimistic," Anglwicz said. "We have a theme in my business, and it's that we don't participate in recessions. You go out everyday, put the pedal to the metal and make it happen. That's how we are going to get through this."

"We too, are very optimistic in our ability to perform better in 2009," Marks said. "However, being in the service and workforce planning business, we see the companies we work with being very, very cautious when it comes to planning for next year. We don't expect to grow as much as we maybe would have a few months ago."

Dave Vetta, president & CEO of First Business Bank in Milwaukee, served as moderator for the event.

The complete 33-page report is available at www.firstbusiness.com.