PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Businesses in New Jersey see better financial times ahead for themselves but not necessarily the country as a whole, according to a newly released survey.

The New Jersey Business and Industry Association’s annual Business Outlook Survey is kind of a mixed bag. On the one hand, over 1,300 members large and small are seeing their own ledgers improving with 31% reporting higher revenues this year prompting higher profits, spending and hiring.

They expect that local trend to continue. But association President Philip Kirschner says that optimism is not shared when looking at the national picture.

“We’re coming off historic lows in terms of sales, profits and spending,” said Kirschner, “and it’s going to be a slow, gradual climb till we get back to where we were before this terrible recession.”

Among the industries still feeling acute pain are construction, retail, transportation and the financial sector.

Reported by David Madden, KYW Newsradio