Small business owners pessimistic over weak employment, sales
Small business owners in the US are growing more pessimistic, according to a survey released Tuesday. Weak employment and sales drove down small business owners' optimism, though the survey did have a few bright spots.
In this July 2012 file photo, credit card logos are seen on a downtown storefront as a pedestrian passes in Atlanta. Small business owners grew more pessimistic in September, as employment and sales remained weak.
David Goldman/AP
New York
Small聽business聽owners are growing more pessimistic.
A survey released Tuesday by the National Federation of Independent聽Business聽shows that owners became more pessimistic during September as employment and sales remained weak. The NFIB's index of owner optimism fell 0.1 point to 92.8.
The survey did have some bright spots. The number of owners who believe this is a good time to expand their companies rose 3 percentage points. And the number of owners who expect聽business聽conditions to improve in six months gained 4 points.
But the number of owner who plan to create jobs fell 3 points, while the number who plan to reduce their payrolls rose 2 points. More than a fifth of the survey's participants said weak sales are their biggest聽business聽problem.
The survey is in line with other small聽business聽readings that show owners are cautious. The payroll service company ADP said last week that small聽businesses聽slowed their pace of hiring during September. There have been mixed readings on how much owners are willing to borrow, but the conflicting signals do point to small companies being very careful about spending for hiring or expansion.
One reason why the NFIB survey showed that more owners expect聽business聽to improve: The presidential election will be decided and Congress is likely to have taken action on tax bills. That would remove some of the uncertainty that has contributed to owners' pessimism the past few months.
The NFIB questioned nearly 700 of its members as part of its survey.