Small business outlook improving, hiring to remain flat

MINNEAPOLIS – Small business owners in Colorado and nine other states
surveyed by U.S. Bank say they believe the economy is starting to
improve but many feel the recession is still lingering.

In the survey, which included responses from about 3,000 small business
owners in Colorado, California, Arizona, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri,
Ohio, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin, 78 percent said they believed
the nation was still in recession. That compares to 89 percent who held
that view in 2010.

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More small business owners (64 percent) reported their revenue was in
line with or higher than the previous year compared to only 55 percent
in 2010. Hiring will remain relatively flat, according to the survey,
with 70 percent saying they expect to keep their staffing levels at the
same level as last year, while 22 percent said they planned to expand
their worker numbers.

The survey said small business owners cited “economic uncertainty” as
the single biggest challenge facing them in 2011, followed by “poor
sales.”

Only 26 percent of survey respondents said their sales were higher in 2011 than in 2010.

“We are heartened to see the outlook improving, but there is still work
to do,´ said Rick Hartnack, vice chairman and head of consumer and small
business banking at U.S. Bank. “Small business owners are starting to
see the recessionary clouds part, but for many the recession remains.”