Small businesses constitute to about 99.7 percent of total businesses in the United States and they are supposed to employ more than 55 million American citizens.
A survey called “NFIB Small Business Economic Trends” was conducted on the 3,50,000 member businesses of NFIB, in May 2010. The survey was helpful in getting figures about, increased earnings in small businesses, rebounding sales, decrease in borrowing rates, etc.
The details of the statistics are as follows.
Small business earnings has increased to 12% (up by 9% from the last year 2009), in the first quarter of 2010.
According to previous reports, small business sales peaked in late 2005 at 15%, they dropped to 5% in 2007, in January 2008, the number further dropped to -8% and in the mid 2009, it was -31%. But in the 1st quarter of 2010, it was reported to be -15%.
The number of small business owners who were found to be borrowing atleast for every three months, was at its peak with 40% in April of 2006. It was 37% in 2007and in 2009 it was 33% and by April 2010, it was 31%. This shows that small businesses, are cutting on expansion plans and, therefore, are not hiring new employees.
Capital expenditures by small businesses was at its peak in March 2005 at 36 percent, it was 17 percent December of 2008 and June of 2009. In April of 2010, it was at 19 percent.
The U.S. consumer economy, which is over 75% of our nations GDP, drives small business growth and expansion. It is the central factor that is in the weakness of the current U.S. Economy.