We had good news this week about consumer confidence increasing, but a new study from Gallup throws a little cold water on those results. Over the course of the past 12 months, more small business owners report having to let workers go than have hired new ones. Only 11 percent of small business owners said their hiring increased over that time, while 23 percent said it declined.
The self-reported hiring levels for small business owners haven't moved much since January 2011. The index is at -11 now, but at least that's up significantly from the all-time low of -27 in January 2010.
The good news is that the number of business owners who expect to hire has been on the rise. That figure was just 17 percent back in January but is up to 20 percent now. The problem is that the number who expect to let workers go has also risen, from 9 percent in April 2012 to 14 percent now.
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