Business conditions in the greater Seattle metro area look better than they have for more than a year, according to business executives who participated in a recent survey by Washington State University and the Seattle Executives Association.

This improvement in attitude comes despite the fact that average business conditions in western Washington haven't really changed much since the second quarter of 2009.

On average, survey respondents reported their sales, inventory, financing and employment were all "stagnant to declining," according to the report generated by the School of Economic Sciences, yet "the key indices show more optimism than they have for over a year."

"For the first time (however) more businesses reported increasing sales and inventory levels than declining levels," said Justin Taylor, economic impact analyst at WSU.

The overall optimism index, which is a composite measure of positive and negative responses to general market conditions, rose from its lowest point of negative .34 in the fourth quarter of 2008 to positive .08 for the third quarter of 2009.

Economic uncertainty continued to be the No. 1 concern of the business leaders surveyed, followed by health care expenses and domestic competition.