Economic survey shows sluggish growth in PA

(Pittsburgh) -- A survey by one of the state's largest banks shows some worries among business owners about Pennsylvania's economy.

The PNC Economic Outlook for the next six months reveals fewer than half of commonwealth's small and medium business owners are expecting sales and profits to increase.

PNC Economist Kurt Rankin says business investment plans also declined, down 10 percent from last spring.

"That is a bit of a sour note coming out of this survey, especially for Pennsylvania where hiring has been relatively strong compared to the rest of the nation," Rankin says. "Weaker business investment over the next six months is not a godo sign for the pace of recovery going into 2013."

Rankin says only one in eight employers surveyed intends to add employees in the next six months.

However, he says PA business owners stand out as being more optimistic than those in other states when it comes to a view of the national economy.

The survey says about half of employers say they're either in the same place or better off now than they were at the start of the recession in 2007.