Headlines

US Small Businesses Eye Expansion Despite Concerns About Economy

Published

8 years ago

May 29, 2017

INSTORE Staff

There’s ‘huge potential for growth.’

WASHINGTON, DC — Many small business owners are expecting revenue growth and looking to hire despite harboring concerns about the health of the national economy, according to the MetLife & U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index.

Based on telephone interviews with 1,000 small business owners and operators, the survey found that nearly a third plan to hire more employees and 60 percent expect revenue to increase in the year ahead. Only 6 percent plan to reduce their staff size and 9 percent are forecasting a decrease in revenue.

“Our Index revealed that there is a huge potential for growth on Main Streets across the country,” said Suzanne Clark, senior executive vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “Not only are small businesses looking to add employees, but they’re optimistic about growing their revenue and investing back in their companies.”

The majority of respondents (61 percent) rated the health of their small business as good or very good, with confidence increasing with the size of the company. More than 40 percent graded their local economy positively. But only 33 percent believe the U.S. economy is in somewhat or very good health, with 25 percent saying that the economy is in poor or somewhat poor health.

This first edition of the Index produced an overall score of 60.6 (on a scale of 0 to 100), which indicates that 60.6 percent of small business owners currently have a positive outlook for their company and the environment in which they operate.

Read more from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

click to Comment(Comment)

Up Next

Robbers in Construction Suits Take $800,000 from Jewelry Store, and Other Crime News

Don't Miss

Man Accused of Buying $100,000 in Jewelry with Dead Person’s Credit Card

Retiring? Let Wilkerson Do the Heavy Lifting

Retirement can be a great part of life. As Nanji Singadia puts it, “I want to retire and enjoy my life. I’m 78 now and I just want to take a break.” That said, Nanji decided that the best way to move ahead was to contact the experts at Wilkerson. He chose them because he knew that closing a store is a heavy lift. To maximize sales and move on to the next, best chapter of his life, he called Wilkerson—but not before asking his industry friends for their opinion. He found that Wilkerson was the company most recommended and says their professionalism, experience and the homework they did before the launch all helped to make his going out of business sale a success. “Wilkerson were working on the sale a month it took place,” he says. “They did a great job.”