- Posted August 17, 2012
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Small biz owners grow more pessimistic in July
NEW YORK (AP) -- Small business owners' optimism sank again in July as they expected sales to weaken in the coming months, according to a survey released recently.
The National Federation of Independent Business said its index of small business optimism fell 0.2 points to 91.2. The NFIB, which lobbies on behalf of small business owners on issues including taxes and health care, compiles the index from a survey of its members.
The drop in the index was the second in a row. Since it registered 86.5 after the recession ended in mid-2009, it has moved as high as 94.5 in February before starting to drop.
The survey found that the number of small business owners who expect their sales to fall in the next three months rose 3 percentage points to 28 percent. Only 21 percent said they planned to buy equipment or real estate in the next three to six months.
William Dunkelberg, the group's chief economist, said uncertainty over taxes, which is likely to continue until after the election, contributed to owners' uneasiness. He also noted, "Nothing happened in July that would make owners more optimistic about the near-term future."
The survey was in line with other reports that pointed to growing pessimism among small businesses. Although reports from the Labor Department and the payroll firm ADP showed a pickup in job growth last month, surveys have shown that small businesses are borrowing less. That's a sign they're holding off on expanding. The NFIB survey showed that the vast majority of the owners it surveyed -- 79 percent -- hadn't made any changes in their employment levels during July.
The survey questioned 1,803 randomly selected NFIB members.
Published: Fri, Aug 17, 2012
headlines Oakland County
headlines National
- This Los Angeles lawyer found her calling as a death doula
- ACLU and BigLaw firm use ‘Orange is the New Black’ in hashtag effort to promote NY jail reform
- Artificial intelligence tools for brief writing and analysis are a small firm litigator’s new best friend
- Baker McKenzie partner drops suit seeking IRS documents on partnership scrutiny
- Family members sue networks after learning of loved ones’ deaths by seeing bodies on TV
- Ex-BigLaw attorney once ‘consumed with remorse’ over $10M client theft sentenced in new scheme