Business Car Manager: Editor’s Blog
HOW FAR along the path to recovery is your small business following the recession? Getting there, but unsteady? That’s certainly the view from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), which says the increase in unemployment figures to 2.5 million is still too fragile for small firms to take on more staff.
The FSB is the UK’s leading business organisation with over 213,000 members. It promotes the interests of the self-employed, and all those who run their own business.
A survey of over 1,400 of its members (including us here at Business Car Manager), found 63% of small businesses said they will keep employment levels on hold over the next three months.
With GDP figures set to be announced this Friday (23 April), small businesses are showing signs of steady growth as the economy moves into recovery – a net balance of 16% of small businesses expect their overall business performance to improve over the next three months.
But while the recovery is continuing steadily, it is still fragile – one in four (23%) expect their business situation to worsen over the next quarter, while two in five small firms expect no change in the performance of their business. So what we have is a picture of slowly recovering economy, but one that is teetering on a tightrope. A small wind could blow many small businesses into negative territory. So it’s hardly surprising that many small businesses won’t be considering hiring more staff.
That’s certainly the view of the FSB’s national chairman, John Walker: “The ‘FSB Voice of Small Business Index’ shows that small firms are at the heart of the recovery but still need support if they are to get us firmly on that road to recovery and if they are to begin taking on staff again.”
Mr Walker went on to add: “The FSB is calling for a renewed economic stimulus to help small businesses continue to create jobs, get access to crucial finance, innovate and start up new businesses, to get us squarely on the road to recovery.”
I’d agree with that. We don’t want to start going backwards again.
