Economic Outlook: Small Business Optimism Slips In U.S.

Filed in archive Economic Outlook on September 20, 2006

According to the title on the Forbes article is "Small Businesses Turn Pessimistic" (U.S.).

Chief among small-business owners' complaints in the NFIB survey is the difficulty they've had finding reliable employees. The percentage of business owners who list the availability of qualified labor as their biggest business problem rose to 12%, the highest since 2001, while 25% of the survey respondents say they are paying more for workers they already have on staff. And of the 55% of small-business owners looking to fill open positions, 84% of them are still looking for replacements. Some 17% of the small-business owners say they plan to create new jobs. Via Forbes

Canadian Business Owners See It Different

According to the CFIB Outlook Survey:

42 % of Canadian Business Owners feel that they are doing much better than a year ago. 42 per cent of respondents expect stronger performance during the next three months, while only 15 per cent expect a weakening.

The longer-term expectations for the next 12 months are the most positive, with 49 per cent of respondents expecting stronger performance, versus only 15 per cent expecting a weaker year ahead. Download the full CFIB Report

I have found that the Canadian Economy is a bit more resilient than the US although we are impacted by US economic downturns.

I guess the point of articles like this and the NFIB and CFIB (publisher of the survey) is to try and postulate the small business outlook.

Why do we always have to look at the glass as being half-empty?

As a business owner my viewpoint is that business owners are just being realistic. Perhaps their optimism has slipped a bit but successful business owners are eternal optimists and look for the silver lining in every cloud and yet keep a firm eye on the reality of their current situation.

US Political and Economic Realities

Every year there is a US election the economy slips a bit in the US because of the uncertainty of who is going to be "in office". Will the new President be friendly to small business?

We will have to wait and see but do not stop developing your business and making plans to diversify and create a contingency plan.