Small-business owners’ view of the economy is surging and giving them an incentive to hire.
That’s the finding of surveys the National Small Business Association and the National Federation of Independent Business released last week.
The number of owners who believe the economy is doing better than it was six months ago has virtually doubled from a survey released during the summer, according to the NSBA survey. Forty-three percent of the 1,426 owners questioned had an improving assessment, compared to 22 percent in the summer.
The view is a reason for owners to add jobs, a shift from the recession and its aftermath, when owners said hiring was too much of a risk. Forty-three percent of the owners surveyed by the NSBA said they expect to hire in the next 12 months, up from 33 percent.
The survey was run from mid-January through early February.
The NFIB also saw an increase in optimism during January, extending a trend that began in October. Its Small Business Optimism Index rose 0.1 point to 105.9, the highest level since December 2004. Since the start of October, the index is up 11.8 points. The index was compiled from a survey of 1,874 NFIB members.
The index rose although the number of owners who expect their sales to increase fell 2 percentage points to 29 percent. However, the number of owners who plan to hire rose 2 points to 18 percent, and the number that believe this is a good time to expand rose 2 points to 25 percent.
The NFIB survey was conducted throughout January.
An American Express survey of 300 owners and executives of small and mid-sized businesses, released last week, is also upbeat. Fifty-four percent said they were optimistic about how the global economy will fare over the next 12 months; 59 percent were optimistic about their local economies.
Nearly 70 percent said they expect their revenue to grow by at least 4 percent over the same period, and 42 percent expect revenue to rise by at least 8 percent.
