A new survey of Connecticut’s businesses reveals many are pessimistic about their expected performance through the end of the year.

Only 1 in 4 firms the Connecticut Business and Industry Association polled in its annual Survey of Connecticut Businesses report said they expected sales to grow in the next 12 months, and more than two-thirds see sales and orders falling over that period. Less than half expect to turn a profit in 2020, a figure CBIA described in an announcement accompanying the study as a “historic low” and represented a sharp drop from 2019’s survey, where 77 percent of firms said they would turn a profit that year.

However, only 20 percent of firms expect to cut headcount in the next six months, and 20 percent expect to hire.

“While Connecticut is recovering better than most states, this survey clearly illustrates there’s a lot at risk with our economy,” CBIA president and CEO Chris DiPentima said in a statement. “We must do everything we can to support and nurture employers, particularly small businesses, as they lead the recovery. This is about creating a strong, more sustainable environment for the state’s economic recovery and addressing the issues that traditionally hamper growth or will block future growth.”

The pandemic severely hurt many firms’ cashflows: More than half of those surveyed either cut employees’ hours, furloughed workers or even laid them off due to pandemic-related shutdowns and restrictions. And 86 percent took advantage of Paycheck Protection Program Loans while 19 percent applied for state emergency assistance.

The CBIA said its survey showed the state should try to help businesses recover with new urban renewal measures and reforms to the state’s Property Transfer Program environmental remediation law, which critics say makes many parcels too costly to redevelop. Other investments should include transportation infrastructure updates and workforce development efforts.