The latest monthly measure of economic confidence among small business owners as measured by Discover Financial Services Small Business Watch was released on January 2.
There was not a big month-to-month change in December – down from 93.2 in November to 92.7 in December. But the December level was down 17 points from December 2006.
The following was highlighted as key findings for December:
• 28 percent of small business owners feel that economic conditions for their own business are getting better. The percentage has been steadily decreasing since September, when 40 percent of owners felt conditions were improving.
• 65 percent of small business owners feel that economic conditions in the U.S. are getting worse, slightly fewer than the 68 percent who felt that way in November. The number who believe it is getting better remained the same.
• 42 percent said they have experienced cash flow issues over the last 90 days, an increase from 38 percent in November but even with 42 percent from December 2006.
• Plans for spending on business development increased this month, with 32 percent of owners planning to increase spending on activities such as advertising and inventory, compared with 29 percent in November, but lower than 37 percent in December 2006.
Rasmussen Reports conducted the survey of 1,000 randomly selected small businesses for the Discover Business Card.
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