State of the Union 2013: Businesses Will Look at Economy and Jobs

Many folks consider the State of the Union address to be a formality that has little effect on the policies coming out of DC.  However, Americans and the larger international community will be tuning in for Obama's primetime address in large numbers.

Much of Obama's time in office has been overshadowed by the economic downturn and recovery.  Business owners and private companies will be listening closely for Obama's approach to economic recovery, jobs growth and the direction he plans to take the country.

According to Sageworks' Chairman Brian Hamilton, the state of the union for private companies is fairly positive, with strong sales growth and expanding profit margins over the past three years.  Economic recovery is still ongoing and there is work to be done, but businesses will be particularly interested in future policy changes rather than partisanship and politics.  At the end of the day, the private sector wants to see cash flow.

The economy is in recovery and private sector is slowly adding jobs.  Obama will need to address jobs growth and long-term economic recovery to appeal to business owners and private companies concerns about their bottom line.

Once again, the economy and jobs are dominating the cycle for this group of individuals.