The National Small Business Association (NSBA) and ZipRecruiter recently released the NSBA 2017 Year-End Economic Report, which references decade-highs with regard to small-business outlook.
The report noted for the first time since 1997 the majority of small firms reported increases in revenues while the majority are confident in the future of their business.
The effort also revealed despite the fact 37 percent of small business owners increased their number of part-time employees in the past five years, the majority were new part-time employees, whereas just 17 percent reduced current full-time employees to part-time.
“In the past two years, the number of small-business owners who say they expect to see an economic expansion in the next year has more than doubled,” NSBA President Todd McCracken said. “Unfortunately, the ever-rising cost of healthcare remains the biggest challenge small businesses face.”
Additional report revelations noted while one-third of small businesses expect to implement some kind of automation in the next year, of those, only 9 percent maintain it will result in fewer employees.
“We tend to think of corporate America when we think of career ladders, however small businesses have ample opportunities for career growth,” Cathy Barrera, ZipRecruiter’s chief economist, said. “Sixty-six percent of all small businesses offer opportunities for promotion, and at companies with more than five employees, that number rises to 85 percent.”