| New Wells Fargo survey: small business owners expect increased revenues, more hiring for 2012 |
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08/02/2012 05:46 (106 Day 02:07 minutes ago) | |||||
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The FINANCIAL -- America’s small business owners are the most optimistic since July 2008, according to the latest findings from the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index survey for the period Jan. 9-13, 2012.
The Index’s future expectations component rose to positive 21 in January, an increase of 13 points from the survey’s last reading, which occurred in October 2011. In addition to its future expectations component, the Index includes a present situation component (looking back 12 months), which improved to minus 6 in January, up from minus 11 in Q4, 2011 and the best reading in this component in three years.
Driving this improvement was an increase in business owners who experienced increased revenues (33 percent), ease of accessing credit (25 percent) and increased capital spending (24 percent) over the past 12 months.More small business owners expect to add new employees (22 percent) than expect to let them go (8 percent) over the next 12 months, an improvement over the previous survey readings.
This quarter’s 14 percentage point hiring/firing difference (those who expect to hire versus fire employees) is the largest since January 2008 at the start of the financial crisis. In October, the hiring/firing difference was only 2 percentage points, with 15 percent expecting to add new employees and 13 percent expecting to let them go.
More than half of the survey’s small business owners (52 percent) said they hired employees in the past 12 months, which is little changed from the 51 percent reported in November 2010. However, of this group, more business owners say they have hired as many employees as needed (65 percent, compared to 48 percent in Nov. 2010) versus those who have hired fewer than needed (29 percent, compared to 42 percent in Nov. 2010), an indication of more stable operating environments.
While business owners indicate plans to hire in the next 12 months, they demonstrate some concern around hiring today. Only 15 percent said they are currently looking for new employees.Half of all business owners surveyed said that as a general rule, they find it very difficult (21 percent) or somewhat difficult (32 percent) to find the right qualified employees for their business. And, in the event they can’t afford to hire new employees, owners say they most often turn to their spouse (21 percent), a friend (16 percent), their children (15 percent), or a relative other than child or spouse (11 percent) for unpaid help.
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