Pessimism Declines Among Small-Business Owners

The number of small-business owners who think the economy is getting worse declined this month compared with November, according to new survey data Discover Financial Services released today. Discover’s Small Business Watch improved slightly in December to 77 from 76.5 in November. The Watch is a monthly report measuring the relative economic confidence of 750 randomly selected small-business owners based on their responses to six questions. Its creators established a base index of 100 when the Watch began in August 2006. The number of small-business owners who think the economy is getting worse fell in December to 49% from 53% in November. Some 24% of small-business owners see no changes in the economy, up from 16% who said so in November. Some 25% of respondents see the economy improving, down from 28% in November, and 2% are not sure. Some 51% of small-business owners have experienced cash-flow problems within the last three months, down from 52% who said so last month, while 45% have experienced no cash-flow problems up from 41% who had no cash-flow problems in November, and 4% are not sure. Some 74% of respondents said the recession has reduced their retirement savings, while 19% said the recession has had no impact and 6% have seen their retirement savings increase.