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Small Business Watch
October 2009
Still Cautious: Half of Small Business Owners Say Economic Recovery More Than a Year Away
The economic confidence of American small business owners remains largely unchanged in October, rising less than 1 point from the previous month on the Discover Small Business Watch index. The Watch rose from 87.7 in September to 88.5 in October, with only one key measurement — business investment — showing any significant change.
October Highlights :
- Investing in business development – On the positive side, the number of those who said they plan to decrease spending dropped from 50 percent in September to 44 percent in October. However, the number of those planning no changes jumped from 22 percent to 32 percent. Those who are planning to increase spending dropped from 25 percent to 23 percent.
- 55 percent of small business owners rate the economy as poor, up from 53 percent in September and 48 percent in August; 36 percent rate it as fair and only 8 percent say it is excellent or good.
- 44 percent of small business owners think the economy is getting worse, down from 46 percent in September; 35 percent of owners say the economy is getting better, up from 33 percent in September.
- 44 percent of owners say they have experienced cash flow issues in the past 90 days, down from 46 percent in September.
- 29 percent of small business owners see economic conditions for their businesses improving, unchanged from September, while 43 percent see their own conditions getting worse, down two percentage points over last month.
