- Posted December 12, 2016
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Small business owners have post-election surge in confidence
NEW YORK (AP) - Small business owners had a post-election surge in optimism and say they are stepping up their plans to hire new workers.
That's the finding of a survey released last Thursday by Wells Fargo & Co., which questioned 602 small business owners from Nov. 11 to 17.
Just over half the owners surveyed said they believed actions by the administration of Republican President-elect Donald Trump and Congress will make their companies better off. Sixty-one percent believed Trump will focus on issues important to them as business owners.
The Wells Fargo Small Business Index, which measures owners' optimism, rose to 80 from a reading of 68 taken in July and 54 in a survey year earlier. It was the highest reading since it registered 83 in January 2008, in the early days of the Great Recession.
Thirty-six percent of the owners surveyed said they plan to hire in the next 12 months, up from 21 percent in July.
Small business owners have been cautious since the recession, and surveys by banks and small business advocacy groups have consistently shown owners were reluctant to hire or expand. Expectations that the incoming administration will be friendly to business are likely adding to owners' more upbeat mood. During the campaign, Trump said he would reduce government regulations that he called a burden to businesses. His Cabinet choices, which have been announced since the survey was conducted, include officials who support a reduction in federal regulations.
Revenue expectations helped feed the boost in optimism in the Wells Fargo survey. Fifty-eight percent of owners forecast their revenue would be up in the next 12 months, an improvement from 48 percent in July. That is also increasing owners' plans to spend on computers, machinery and other big-ticket items - 35 percent plan such expenditures in the next 12 months, up from 25 percent
Seventy-seven percent forecast their companies' financial situation would be good over the next 12 months, up from 73 percent in July.
Published: Mon, Dec 12, 2016
headlines Oakland County
headlines National
- 50 Years of Service: ABA has been a ‘stalwart ally’ for LSC funding
- ACLU and BigLaw firm use ‘Orange is the New Black’ in hashtag effort to promote NY jail reform
- Biden recalls time he bluffed knowledge of torts case and why he changed his mind about civil-trial work
- Lawyers’ ‘barrage of personal attacks’ on opponents started with tissue-box toss, appeals court says
- Longtime prosecutor resigns after judge tosses him from case, citing Perry Mason-type revelations
- 24% of law students expect to work in public service, survey says