A new Wells Fargo-Gallup poll shows that the percentage of small business owners expecting to hire more employees fell to 12 percent in July, down from 23 percent in January. A matching 12 percent of small businesses also say they expect a decrease in the number of jobs at their companies over the next 12 months. These hiring-and-firing numbers are at their lowest point in a year. The poll was taken before this week’s stock market collapse.
The number of small businesses who told Gallup they are anticipating an increase in revenue over the next year also fell, from 54 percent in January to 42 percent in July. Another 18 percent of small businesses said the expect their revenues to decrease.
These results mirror a National Federation of Independant Businesses study released earlier this week that found small-business optimism falling for the fifth consecutive month. Asked to identify the single most important problem facing their business, owners cited poor sales (23 percent), taxes (20 percent), and government regulations (16 percent).
