Global Small Businesses: Is It Tough Out There?

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The portion of small businesses reporting that the U.S. economy was improving fell to its lowest level in August since the government shutdown of 2013, according to a monthly survey of small firms by The Wall Street Journal and Vistage International Inc.

Only 42% of the 682 small companies surveyed by the two organizations said economic conditions were better than a year ago, down from 47% in July and a January peak of 67%.

But small-business owners’ waning optimism about the larger economy belies their outlook for their own operations. Fifty-seven percent of small firms surveyed expect their total number of employees to increase over the next 12 months, while 46% forecast growth in investment spending. 

Bob Gross, the owner of 25-year-old Gross Automation, a distributor of automation and controls in the Milwaukee area, said, "But it’s tough out there."

Read more ... Small-Business Owners' Confidence in Economy Wanes