Even though some firms are gearing up for big spending plans in the near future, new research suggests a recovery may be a long way off.
Small-business owners’ confidence in March dropped to its lowest level in over a year — according to data from Discover Financial Services.
The Discover Small Business Watch index, a report that measures the economic confidence of 750 randomly selected small businesses based on responses to six questions, dropped to 75.7 in March. That’s the lowest it’s been since last Feb., when it sank all the way to 71.9 last February.
The research found that 53% of small-business owners “expect to see economic conditions deteriorate” for their own businesses — compared to the 37% who said so in Feb.
Some other notable findings from Discover Financial Services:
- 58% of respondents in March said the economy is getting worse (compared with 44% in Feb.), and
- 52% said they plan to cut business spending (compared to 43% in Feb.).
