According to the latest Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index, small business owners are the most optimistic they have been in more than six years, and
business owners are feeling the most upbeat about the year ahead since the start of the Great Recession.
In a quarterly small business survey, conducted November 10-14, the overall Small Business Index score increased significantly to positive 58 (+58) in November, up from a positive 49 (+49) in July 2014 and up 34 points from a year ago. While below pre-recession levels, the score, which measures small business optimism, is the highest it has been since January 2008 when it was positive 83 (+83).
The future expectations score is helping drive the rise in optimism. This score increased to positive 37 (+37) in November up from positive 17 (+17) a year ago. The present situation – how business owners rate current conditions for their businesses – also continues to steadily climb, having increased to positive 21 (+21), up from positive 7 (+7) in fourth quarter of 2013.
Several factors that contributed to this quarter’s considerable improvement include:
“The latest Index scores show that small business owners are becoming more confident about the future,” said Lisa Stevens, head of Regional Banking Sales and Marketing and Small Business and regional bank executive for the Pacific Midwest Region at Wells Fargo. “With steady improvements in the operating environment and the economy, small businesses in general are making great strides, are in a better financial position and are seeing more opportunities to invest in their businesses for the long-term. Positive trends in hiring and stronger cash flows show us that small businesses are healthier and are on much more solid footing as they look toward 2015.”
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