Discover(R) is discovering that small business confidence declined in March, from 84.9 to 75.7, in Economic Confidence Tumbles in March. Here are some lowlights:
The March results were marked by a surge in the number of small business owners who say economic conditions for their own businesses are deteriorating:53 percent of them say the climate will get worse in the next six months, compared to only 37 percent who answered that way in February. Of the remaining respondents, 20 percent said things are getting better, 20 percent said things are the same, and 6 percent are unsure.
When asked about their intentions to invest in their businesses, 52 percent said they would decrease spending, up from 43 percent in February, while 27 percent said they would make no changes, and 18 percent said they plan to increase spending.
Much of the profits gain that is powering the stock market higher is from nothing other than large companies with ultra-high gross profit margins laying workers off. Small business works with thinner margins and also has less access to cheap capital.
Evidence is accumulating to support the concept that this economic "recovery" is hollow. Might it take real economic innovation, or a massive change in taxing/spending governmental priorities, to reverse this trend?
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