Hawai'i business owners are growing increasingly cautious about their outlook for the local economy, according to a report released yesterday by Bank of Hawaii.

The survey of 295 businesses showed that only 7.5 percent of those polled expect a higher overall level of economic activity during the next 12 months, the lowest percentage in nearly 15 years. Of those surveyed, 57.5 percent said they expected a lower level of economic activity, the highest percentage in 10 years.

Still, companies were more upbeat about their own business prospects than the outlook for the overall economy, said Paul Brewbaker, BOH's chief economist.

"Most owners and managers know more about their own business than the aggregate economy, perhaps because the economic news today sounds bleak," Brewbaker said in a news release.

Nonetheless, "It would be prudent for firms to consider the implications of a national economic slowdown," he added.

Of those polled, 32.3 percent expect higher sales during the next 12 months, while 24.2 percent expect lower sales.

And some firms said they are still planning on hiring this year. Although 63.1 percent expect to keep employment steady, 15.5 percent expect higher employment, while 21.4 percent said they expect lower employment.

The survey included a special question that asked business owners about their own view of the chance of a recession at the state, national and global levels.

The odds were the highest at the national level, with 56.1 percent of the respondents saying they felt the U .S. economy was likely to experience recession. In turn, 36.2 percent said they felt the global economy would enter recession.

Recession odds for the Neighbor Islands were rated higher at 44.2 percent than the odds of recession on O'ahu at 38.9 percent.

The full survey is available at www.boh.com/econ/.