|
Small business confidence in the
American economy rebounded in January as owners reported substantially fewer
cash flow issues in surveys conducted for Discover®Small Business WatchSM. The
report states that there is a marked improvement in post-holiday optimism, and
that small businesses are in a better cash position, probably due to a
combination of lower receivables and the absence of pressure on energy prices
due to the unusually mild winter. According to the report’s key January
findings:
· The number of small
business owners who said they experienced cash flow issues dropped from 42
percent in December to 32 percent in January.
· Thirty-five percent said
economic conditions in the U.S. are getting better, up from 31 percent in
December. The percentage of owners who feel economic conditions are getting
worse dropped to 46 percent, compared to 50 percent last month.
Although confidence levels have
strengthened, another survey of U.S. small business owners commissioned by
Discover Business Card uncovered a series of pressures caused by soaring
health-care costs that threaten the country’s 22 million small businesses.
Survey findings included the following:
· Sixty-four percent of
small business owners say health-care costs have an impact on their ability to
grow their companies.
· Sixty-seven percent of owners express that it is
“very difficult” (50 percent) or “somewhat difficult” (17 percent) to obtain
affordable health care for themselves and their employees.
In addition, the report
indicated that although there are no easy answers to the complex issue of health
care in small businesses, health care costs clearly have an impact on their
ability to grow. | 
