Contact:
Molly Brogan
202-552-2904
press@nsba.biz

Washington, D.C. - The National Small Business Association today released a mid-year report that compiles recent survey and poll data to provide a snapshot of how small business is dealing with the current economic slowdown. The result: a negative outlook for the U.S. economy with the overwhelming majority of small-business owners (79 percent) anticipating a flat economy or recession in the coming year.

The NSBA Mid-Year Economic Report analyzes responses from a sampling of NSBA membership on their current economic outlook, job and business growth, business financing and several other key economic indicators for the small-business community.

“Small-business owners are feeling less-confidant in nearly every way, particularly with banks’ ability to keep their money safe,” stated NSBA President Todd McCracken. “Decreasing home values, a tight credit market and failing financial institutions have led to 67 percent of small-business owners who believe that the U.S. economy is worse off today than it was five years ago.”

Included in the report, 68 percent of small-business owners report that FDIC insurance is not adequate enough to insure their business accounts, and nearly two-thirds have already or are considering taking action such as spreading deposits across multiple institutions to reduce their financial risk.

The significant role small business plays in job creation—responsible for 93.5 percent of net new jobs since 1989—is also addressed in the report. While net new job growth in the past 12 months has remained relatively stagnant according to both the February 2008 survey and the August 2008 report, there was a 15-point spread between those projecting job growth and those projecting job eliminations in the coming 12 months.

“Despite the relatively bleak outlook for the U.S. economy as a whole, 75 percent of small-business owners today are confident about the future of their own business,” stated David Ickert, NSBA Economic Development Committee chair and owner of Air Tractor, Inc. a small manufacturing company in Olney, Texas. “Although that’s certainly positive, we cannot afford to ignore the fact that one-fourth of small-business owners are not confident about the future of their business.”

The full report can be found here.

Since 1937, NSBA has advocated on behalf of America’s entrepreneurs. Reaching more than 150,000 small businesses, NSBA is proud to be the first national small-business advocacy organization in the United States. To find out more about the importance of the small-business community, please visit NSBA’s Small Business: 70 Million Strong…And Voting campaign at www.nsba.biz/vote.