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Special Questions
Survey Period: [February 26 – March 18, 2026]
Published on:
This section features timely and topical questions asked by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond as part of its monthly business surveys. These special questions vary each month and are designed to capture insights on emerging trends, economic disruptions, policy changes, or other current events impacting business conditions. The responses help provide a more nuanced understanding of the evolving economic landscape beyond our standard survey metrics.
March 2026 Special Questions Results
In March 2026, we asked regional business executives about the ease of hiring workers compared to last year. The results below are based on 259 total responses, 101 of which are from the manufacturing survey and 158 of which are from the non-manufacturing survey.
1. What was your total change in revenue (percentage) over the past 12 months, and what do you expect for the next 12 months?
Data are winsorized at 5% and 95%.
Topic: Revenue and Margins, Outlook
| Total (n=252) | Manufacturing (n=99) | Non-Manufacturing (n=153) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | Mean | Mean | |
| Past 12 months | 2.6% | 0.1% | 4.1% |
| Next 12 months (expected) | 5.4% | 4.7% | 5.8% |
2. What was your total change in employment (percentage) over the past 12 months, and what do you expect for the next 12 months? Please consider all domestic employees
Data are winsorized at 5% and 95%.
Topic: Employment, Outlook
| Total (n=255) | Manufacturing (n=101) | Non-Manufacturing (n=154) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | Mean | Mean | |
| Past 12 months | 0.7% | -1.4% | 2.1% |
| Next 12 months (expected) | 3.2% | 2.7% | 3.6% |
3. How will the average prices you charge your customers change, if at all, in the next 12 months?
Topic: Prices and Wages, Outlook
| Total (n=259) | Manufacturing (n=101) | Non-Manufacturing (n=158) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Increase | 55.6% | 59.4% | 53.2% |
| Decrease | 4.6% | 4.9% | 4.4% |
| No change from current levels | 29.3% | 25.7% | 31.7% |
| Unsure | 10.4% | 9.9% | 10.8% |
| Prefer not to answer | 0% | 0% | 0% |
4. To what extent will you be able to increase prices to your desired level?
Topic: Prices and Wages
| Total (n=259) | Manufacturing (n=101) | Non-Manufacturing (n=158) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fully - we can increase prices to our desired level | 7.6% | 6.7% | 8.3% |
| Mostly - we can increase prices close to our desired level | 34.0% | 26.7% | 39.3% |
| Somewhat - we can increase prices to a moderate extent | 36.8% | 40.0% | 34.5% |
| Slightly - we can only increase prices minimally | 20.8% | 26.7% | 16.7% |
| Uncertain/Don't know | 0.7% | 0.0% | 1.2% |
5. Why are you not able to fully increase prices to your desired levels?
Topic: Prices and Wages
| Total (n=132) | Manufacturing (n=56) | Non-Manufacturing (n=76) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customers will not accept price increases | 26.5% | 21.4% | 30.3% |
| Need to clear existing inventory | 0.8% | 0.0% | 1.3% |
| Contracts with fixed prices | 10.6% | 10.7% | 10.5% |
| Regulatory constraints | 0.8% | 0.0% | 1.3% |
| Don't want to lose market share | 23.5% | 19.6% | 26.3% |
| Worried about company's reputation | 3.8% | 0.0% | 6.6% |
| Something else (specify) | 3.0% | 0.0% | 5.3% |
Past Special Questions
-
2025
- December
Outlook, Artificial Intelligence, Operations - September
Outlook, Employment, Revenue and Margins - August
Tariffs, Prices and Wages, Supply Chain, Revenue and Margins - June
Employment - May
Tariffs - March
Tariffs, Supply Chain, Prices and Wages - February
Prices and Wages
- December
-
2024
- December
- November
- August
- June
- May
- March
-
2023
- September
- August
- June
- May
- March
- February
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