The National Small Business Association has released its 2015 Year-End Economic Report, which shows mixed results among small business. Small-business owners expressed a less positive outlook on the overall economy; however, 75 percent are confident in their own business – the highest this indicator has been in four years.
“While small-business owners are more concerned with the economy, we’re seeing modest improvements in hiring, employee compensation and access to financing,” said NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken. “This dichotomy is not surprising giving the recent stock market volatility and rhetoric surrounding the 2016 election.”
While access to capital has improved for small businesses – the number of small firms able to garner financing today is at its eight-year high of 73 percent – one-in-four small companies still cannot access adequate financing. Another indicator of financial improvement is the number of firms that increased employee compensation over the last 12 months (57 percent) and those that plan to do so in the coming 12 months (60 percent) – both numbers are the highest they’ve been in eight years.
The survey also asked about cybersecurity and found that 42 percent of small businesses report they have been the victim of a cyber-attack. These cyber-attacks cost small businesses on average $7,115.26, and for those firms whose business banking accounts were hacked, the average losses were $32,020.56.
“Economic insecurity is the biggest challenge facing small firms today,” explained NSBA Chair Cookie Driscoll, owner of C. Cookie Driscoll Inc. of Fairfield, Pa. “Policymakers play a very real role in these trends and, unfortunately, our survey found that just 5 percent of small-business owners believe that the various presidential candidates understand small business very well.”
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