NSBA Delivers 2009 Year-End Economic Report

The National Small Business Association has released its 2009 Year-End Economic Report, and as you might have guessed, a lot of the organization’s data doesn’t point to it having been a good twelve months.  Still, there were a couple of ways in which small business owners came out looking okay.

For the sake of ending this piece on a positive note, let’s start with the bad stuff.  The NSBA said in a statement, "The number of small businesses citing decreases in revenue over the past 12 months rose to its highest point since 1993, and 39 percent report they are unable to get adequate financing for their business."

There was also an increase in the number of small business owners who cut jobs.

It’s at this point we can move on to the happier news, however, because some small business owners added jobs in 2009, and more plan to do so in the future, resulting in a net gain.

Furthermore, according to the NSBA, "[T]he majority of small businesses (52 percent) expect growth opportunities in the coming 12 months," and "[f]or the first time in two years, there was a slight increase in the number of small businesses who are confident in the future of their own business – up from 58 percent in July 2009 to 61 percent in December 2009."