West Michigan’s businesses and purchasing managers are seeing a slow, but positive start to the economy in 2025, said a Grand Valley researcher.
Brian Long, director of supply management research at GVSU’s Seidman College of Business, said his January survey of local purchasing managers returned encouraging signs that the economy was off to a good start with the new year.
“Our December survey of purchasing agents was marginally positive, but the January numbers came in stronger, not gangbusters, just stronger, and hence the West Michigan economy is starting 2025 on a positive note,” Long said.
The region’s positive sentiments are reflected in one of Long’s measurements — business confidence — which reached new levels in 2025, he said. Long’s short-term confidence index measures businesses’ projections over a three- to six-month span while his long-term confidence index analyzes projections over a three- to five-year period.
“The best news in this month's survey of West Michigan purchasing managers comes from our measures of short and long-term business confidence,” Long said. “The short-term index came in at a six-month high, but the long-term index hit an 12-year high.”
Another of Long’s key metrics, new orders, also posted strong numbers and rose sharply to their highest levels in nine months.
However, Long noted that while the region’s employment index has been relatively flat for the past 18 months, official data from the state confirms unemployment data ticked upward.
“For the last year or so, our West Michigan Employment index has had quite a few months that the index came in just modestly negative,” Long said. “Finally, the official numbers out of Lansing are starting to pick up, and some of our units are now posting some noticeably higher rates of unemployment.”
Here’s a look at the key index results from January’s survey of West Michigan businesses:
- New orders index (business improvement): +13 vs. +4 in December
- Production index (output): +1 vs. +4 in December
- Employment index: -2 vs. -5 in December
- Lead times index: -7 vs. -3 in December
More information about the survey and an archive of past surveys are available on the Seidman College of Business website .
