LANSING – The latest Small Business Barometer survey shows Michigan entrepreneurs, after a tough first quarter, remain downbeat about potential sales, employment and profitability in the second quarter.
“The results are a real shock compared to the optimistic economic indicators we’re seeing on the national level,” Michael Rogers, Vice President for Communications for the Small Business Association of Michigan said Wednesday. “The survey underscores the significant barriers facing economic recovery in Michigan and should serve as a wakeup call to state policy makers.”
Forty-three percent of small business owners had decreased sales in the previous quarter – the highest level in the ten-year history of the Barometer survey. Twenty percent of small employers say they decreased their number of employees last quarter – the highest level in two-and-one-half years. Forty-five percent had decreased profits – well above the ten-year average of 28 percent.
A pessimistic outlook about future business conditions echoes the disappointing quarterly results. Only about half of small business owners expect sales to increase in the next year. Fewer than a quarter anticipate adding employees. Just forty-four percent expect increased profitability. All three results are gloomier than expectations reported last quarter.
“Like an engine that keeps misfiring, it seems like something is preventing Michigan’s small business economy from hitting on all cylinders, Rogers said. This is very alarming because statistical research shows that small businesses create three-quarters of all net new jobs. If small businesses continue to stumble, who is going to lead the state’s economy back to prosperity?
Small business owners were surveyed in February and early March. The survey is sponsored by SBAM with the participation and support of the Center for Urban Studies of Wayne State University. The survey was conducted by Public Policy Associates of Lansing.
