Small Business Finance News
Small Business Confidence Drops Again
Written by Jenna Weiner
Published: 8/9/2011
Small businesses remain pessimistic about the economy, as evidenced by the latest business optimism survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business.
In troubling small business news, the National Federation of Independent Business' optimism index declined for the fifth consecutive month.
The index, which looks at small business confidence, declined to its lowest level since September at 89.9. It was previously 90.8 in June, according to the NFIB. The group said unemployment above 9 percent and less consuming spending could be adding to the diminishing small business confidence.
"Uncertainty is the enemy, and there is plenty of it to convince owners to be cautious," said William Dunkelberg, NFIB's chief economist. "Now that Congress has reached an agreement on the debt limit, the July and August surveys will prove a good 'before and after' test of the impact of the agreement on owner optimism and confidence."
Despite the lack of confidence reported by NFIB, the recent Business Confidence Survey by Insperity Inc., a human resources company, found that 70 percent of small business owners are meeting or exceeding 2011 performance plans, 52 percent expect a year-over-year sales increase in 2011 and 32 percent plan to add employees. About 82 percent of the owners surveyed said they have moved their economic recovery expectations to 2012.
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