More than half the population of the United States work for a small business, and a small business per the SBA is a business with less than 500 employees. The news about the economy seems to pull small business owners in two directions. Those optimistic and ready to hire new employees, or the cautious one that are still waiting to see how the economy is really working out. Which small business owner are you? Follow the links below for more news about the economy.
The Best Places to Start a Business in Ohio
Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Ohio occupied the center of America’s industrial heart. The burgeoning United States economy couldn’t get enough of the region’s cars and steel, and in turn, Ohio and other states provided a virtually endless stream of jobs in its workshops and factories.
In the second half of the 20th century, however, the region fell into decline, as manufacturing output required less labor input, and companies left the Great Lakes states for the warmer climes of the Sun Belt. The entire region was categorized economically dead as factories closed and traditionally middle-class manufacturing jobs disappeared.
But what really happened wasn’t quite that simple. Although it’s true the number of manufacturing jobs has declined, Ohio remains one of the country’s most productive states. Photos of rusted, abandoned factories paint a dire picture, but companies and communities adjusted, and the Ohio economy proved to be more resilient and dynamic than portrayed.
Ohio small businesses feeling better about economy
Ohio small-business owners are feeling better about the economy, both locally and nationally, according to a U.S. Bank survey released Monday.
The growing confidence, however, isn’t translating into significant hiring or big investments by owners.
The U.S. Bank survey, the sixth that the Minneapolis-based bank has done, found that 72 percent of the 200 Ohio small- business owners surveyed describe their business as good, very good or excellent, the best in five years.
Still, 23 percent of those surveyed believe the national economy remains in a recession. That’s down from 35 percent in 2014 and 45 percent in 2013.
Small-business owners aren’t the only ones who have been cautious since the recession, said George Mokrzan, Huntington Bancshares economist. Consumers also have been holding back on retail sales and buying homes.
Small business owners bullish on economy, ready to hire workers
Small-business owners in Central Ohio and throughout the state are growing more optimistic about their own financials along with the health of the national economy, according to separate surveys from U.S. Bank and the Entrepreneurs’ Organizations.
Three-quarters of Columbus-area companies surveyed by the EO trade group expect profits to increase over the next six months, up from 67 percent in its semiannual survey released last October.
