Report: More small-business owners have that sinking feeling

Despite a number of encouraging signs in recent months that the nation’s economy is slowly but surely recovering, small-business owners across the United States are actually feeling less optimistic about their own prospects—and the country’s—than they did last year at this time. That’s among the findings of the National Small Business Association’s “2012 Year-End Economic Report,” released today. “Despite modest gains in the number of small businesses projecting U.S. economic expansion, the overwhelming majority, 86%, still believe the U.S. economy will be flat or recessionary in the coming year,” says NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken. “It’s no small wonder, then—yet a very big problem—that half of all small businesses project no growth whatsoever for their own business this year.” NSBA notes the survey was conducted between Dec. 21 and Jan. 14—at the height of the messy “fiscal cliff” debate—”likely causing lower optimism and confidence among respondents than are typical this time of year.” Still, just slightly more than one-third of the approximately 400 small-business owners who participated in the survey say they expect their firm to grow in the coming year. That’s “the lowest this indicator has been since we began asking this question in December 2009,” NSBA says. You can check out the complete report here.