Small-business index gains in April - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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points in April, with a majorithy of business owners expecting the economgy to improve over the next three to six The percentage of small business owners who are optimisti about the economy jumped 24 pointd inthe ' monthly survey. Salews expectations, which hit a record low in improved by20 points. Scores for six other indicators also enabling the index to riseto 86.8 — stillp far below 100, the level that reflects smalo business conditions in 1986. NFIB Chief Economist Willian Dunkelbergcautioned “the improved numbers were stilol very low,” so “no immediatwe turnabout” is likely for the economy.
About 30 percent of smalol businesses reduced employment over the pastthree months, comparedd with 4 percent that increased the size of theirr work force. “It appears that ownersw are not through withtheir labor-basexd cost cutting,” Dunkelberg said. A net 14 percenty of small-business owners reported that loans were hardeto get, the highest readinbg since the recession of the early