Small business owners have a brighter outlook for the economy than they did six months ago, according to the National Small Business Association (NSBA) 2016 Year-End Economic Report.
The number of small businesses anticipating economic expansion in the next 12 months increased from 29 percent last July to 54 percent when the study was published last week.
“The number of small-business owners who say today’s economy is better than six months ago has nearly doubled since July,” NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken said. “Unfortunately, small-business access to capital and hiring over the past year didn’t mirror that major uptick in outlook and both indicators remained relatively stagnant.”
The report found that hiring projections for the coming 12 months was up 10 percentage points, with 80 percent of small business owners saying they are confident in the future of their business—the highest percentage nine years. The study also showed that 78 percent of small businesses report that they are growing or anticipate growth in the coming year.
The biggest concern among those surveyed is partisan gridlock in Washington, D.C. Other concerns they would like to see addressed are tax simplification, as well as reductions in health care costs and the deficit.
“Fewer small-business owners today say that economic uncertainty is a significant problem facing their business than at any point in the last nine years,” Pedro Alfonso, NSBA chair of Dynamic Concepts, Inc. in Washington, D.C., said. “However, health care costs and the tax burden both increased in terms of major problems facing their business.”