Special Questions

Texas Business Outlook Surveys

Data were collected September 16-24, and 68 Texas manufacturers responded to the survey.

NOTES: 64 responses. Shown are averages, calculated as trimmed means with the lowest and highest 5 percent of responses omitted.

NOTE: 66 responses.

NOTE: 66 responses.

NOTES: 27 responses. This questions was only posed to firms expecting a positive impact from the tax provisions.

NOTES: 63 responses. Shown are averages, calculated as the mean of received responses. Prior to Apr. '22 respondents were not asked to break out fully remote versus hybrid, and responses could be lower as a result if respondents had in mind only workers working mostly remotely. Responses for Feb. '20 are from an Aug. '20 question asking, "What share of your employees were working remotely in February (pre-COVID-19)?"

NOTE: 65 responses.

NOTE: 31 responses.

Survey respondents were given the opportunity to also provide comments, which can be found in the Comments tab above.

Texas Business Outlook Surveys

Data were collected September 16-24, and 255 Texas business executives responded to the survey.

NOTES: 215 responses. Shown are averages, calculated as trimmed means with the lowest and highest 5 percent of responses omitted.

NOTE: 238 responses.

NOTE: 238 responses.

NOTES: 72 responses. This questions was only posed to firms expecting a positive impact from the tax provisions.

NOTES: 212 responses. Shown are averages, calculated as the mean of received responses. Prior to Apr. '22 respondents were not asked to break out fully remote versus hybrid, and responses could be lower as a result if respondents had in mind only workers working mostly remotely. Responses for Feb. '20 are from an Aug. '20 question asking, "What share of your employees were working remotely in February (pre-COVID-19)?"

NOTE: 232 responses.

NOTE: 120 responses.

Survey respondents were given the opportunity to also provide comments, which can be found in the Comments tab above.

Texas Business Outlook Surveys

Data were collected September 16-24, and 47 Texas business executives responded to the survey.

NOTES: 38 responses. Shown are averages, calculated as trimmed means with the lowest and highest 5 percent of responses omitted.

NOTE: 44 responses.

NOTE: 44 responses.

NOTES: 16 responses. This questions was only posed to firms expecting a positive impact from the tax provisions.

NOTES: 42 responses. Shown are averages, calculated as the mean of received responses. Prior to Apr. '22 respondents were not asked to break out fully remote versus hybrid, and responses could be lower as a result if respondents had in mind only workers working mostly remotely. Responses for Feb. '20 are from an Aug. '20 question asking, "What share of your employees were working remotely in February (pre-COVID-19)?"

NOTE: 44 responses.

NOTE: 16 responses.

Survey respondents were given the opportunity to also provide comments, which can be found in the Comments tab above.

Special Questions Comments

Survey participants are given the opportunity to submit comments. Some comments have been edited for grammar and clarity.

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection is applying steel and aluminum tariffs to products that do not contain steel or aluminum. I have already spent more than a month trying to get incorrect tariffs reversed, so far without success.

• Working remotely is not an issue with our firm.

• Those requesting remote or hybrid work are typically young professionals (engineers, designers, programmers, etc.).

• We have never allowed remote work. Our business is manufacturing and services, which requires all workers to be either at the customer site or in the office.

• Current employees received a raise in January 2025 to increase their base salaries by about 4 percent. Commission percentages and incentive compensation were increased as well. Wages are currently the biggest drain on profitability for us, and we're currently working on the 2026 budget, when the incentive compensation will be revised, and two employees will receive reductions in their base salaries.

• The rate of decrease in the number of financial institutions has accelerated. The number of locations has increased primarily through branching. Credit unions continue to expand including by purchasing banks. Statistics show that credit unions do not serve small businesses and consumers as well as community banks do. Credit unions do not pay taxes, and banks do.

• Wages and benefits for existing employees are fixed. New hire wages are tied to a fixed schedule. However, we have been hiring above entry level for some positions, as we cannot fill them at entry level. I don't describe this as an increase in wages and benefits, because it is not an across-the-board change, but it does result in slightly higher wage costs.

• We are actively trying to get people back to the office at least three to four days a week.  Covid is in the rearview mirror, in-office workers boost camaraderie, training opportunities and production.
• Foreign research has become more costly due to the depreciation of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies.
• We allow only a hybrid work schedule. We don't allow total remote work. We've seen that most of our employees prefer to be in the office. The hybrid policy is voluntary. We only see about 25 percent participation.
• Because of a lack of experienced labor pool within our region, we had to hire a few remote workers. All things being equal, we definitely would not hire remote workers because the value of in-office interaction is important to what we do.
• Staff who work entirely remotely are usually not in supervisory or managerial roles and don't want such roles, nor do they take on project management of projects that require large teams. Fully remote employees also have limited mentoring opportunities for younger team members due to the lack of in-person meeting time. As such, fully remote work arrangements tend to limit roles these employees take. As a result, employees in office tend to get opportunities that fully remote employees do not, which eventually impacts promotions and salary increases.
• We've been fully remote since March 13, 2020.

• We work in mostly software-related development work, so remote is working well for now, with facility infrastructure savings a plus.

• We've always considered remote work to be ill-advised and have never allowed it. Even during the pandemic, we declared ourselves essential and came to work every day. Sure workers like it, but it adds no value.

• Remote workers are a figment of some college professors. Transportation equipment manufacturing
• We’ve seen cost and price increases due to tariffs. Things are totally uncertain for next 12 months.

• I had an employee in Dallas relocate to Colorado Springs in August. The move has forced me to consider all the options. I think 100 percent remote can work under the ideal circumstances. It is not suited for every employee or every role. I still find great value in workplace collaboration. Remote work does not allow for water cooler talk, which is vital for a healthy community and deeper personal connections.

• We are not seeing remote work increases, but increases in the number of employees who want to take extended time off with no commitment to return to work.