Report Says Small Biz Is Turning To Layoffs

It’s August, and according to the UK-based Forum of Private Business, layoffs are in the air.  The FPB claims that a full 53 percent of private businesses are planning to cut jobs in response to the recession.

Only 29 percent of firms were found to be planning job cuts in the first quarter, so this second-quarter response is somewhat startling.  It would seem to indicate that things have gotten much worse, and that small business owners expect them to remain that way for some time.

The survey was administered by KPMG, and the FPB statement also reports, "According to KPMG, almost 60% of firms surveyed think they will continue to suffer for another one to two years.  Close to 20% of UK businesses fear the downturn could linger until 2013."

However, once something is taken into consideration, it seems that the figurative end may not be too near.  The FPB tries to convince small businesses to join its ranks in the second and third paragraphs of its press release.  While possibly coincidental, this makes the findings look a bit self-serving.

We’ll keep our fingers crossed, then, and note that the Dow is only down a few points so far today.