186380 Resource 149173 155860 149257 1192306917908 1192469733945 Controlled Small Business News: U.S. Small Business Owners Are Less Worried

New survey shows business owners are less anxious about credit availability and housing market issue

The well-publicized anxiety on Wall Street about credit availability and the housing market has yet to translate into the same degree of concern along Main Street among the nation's small and mid-sized business owners, according to the PNC Economic Outlook survey. Steady interest rates and lower energy prices contributed to their stable outlook for sales and profits during the next six months compared to last Spring's survey. Their view is more positive compared to one year ago. Plans for hiring full-time employees, however, are down slightly from the Spring and on par with a year ago. "Small business owners are not yet ringing the recession bell," said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist for the PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. "Based on our survey results, we expect the U.S. economy to remain on a path of slow but sustained growth." Key Findings: Credit & Housing Wall Street's credit squeeze and housing slump have yet to raise the same concerns among small business owners, he added, citing PNC's survey results. The study has been conducted every six months since April 2003 to gauge the mood and sentiment among small business owners who represent the bedrock of the American economy. Highlights include: Credit Crunch - Not On Main Street: Nearly nine out of 10 (87 percent) business owners who need credit say availability is the same or easier to get than three months ago, while only 13 percent said it is more difficult now. At the same time, plans for capital spending have steadily increased from PNC's last two surveys with technology remaining the top priority. Falling House Prices - Limited Small Business Impact: The business owners' tempered view on the housing market is evident by the four out of 10 (43 percent) who expect local house prices to decline during the next 6-12 months while one-third (34 percent) expect prices to be flat. One out of four (23 percent) expect local prices to rise. Of those who expect a decline in house prices, less than a quarter (22 percent) expect it will adversely impact their sales and profits. Stable Expectations Reflecting stable interest rates and lower energy prices, business owners' expectations for sales and profits are on par with the Spring results and higher than one year ago, PNC found. With hiring, however, 27 percent expect an increase during the next six months compared to 32 percent in Spring and 25 percent last Autumn. Active Capital Spending Plans: Four out of five (80 percent) plan to make some type of investments in their business, up from 70 percent last Autumn. Technology equipment, mentioned by 26 percent of business owners, is most likely to receive the largest spending increase over the next six months with other types of business equipment (14 percent) a distant second, followed by physical plant and employee training (each at 10 percent). Continued Cost Pressures: Nearly two out of three (64 percent) expect to pay higher prices to suppliers, little changed from our two previous surveys. These results likely reflect limited declines in energy and other raw materials prices. Over half (51 percent) expect an increase in employee compensation and healthcare costs (60 percent), little changed from 54 percent and 57 percent, respectively, a year ago. For complete details of the national and regional survey results, visit <a href="http://www.pnc.com/eos">http://www.pnc.com/eos</a>. 10 application/xml business news credit availability housing market small business small business news U.S. small business false Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0; SLCC1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; Media Center PC 5.0; .NET CLR 3.0.04506) 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 mfmomper false true false false true 189572 false false true false false false true 149173 blog blogsite/FreedomVoice/web