Hiring being pushed-off in 2011 by Small Businesses

Small business leaders are cautious by nature. They need to be!
Nothing demonstrates this better than small business management ‘s approach to hiring this year.
Our first quarter studies at Information Strategies, Inc. showed a marked tenancy to push off hiring in the immediate future.
This quarter, the Chamber of Commerce reports its findings are saying the same thing.
More importantly, the Chamber suggests that smaller the company, the less likely they are to be hiring this year.
ISI’s survey earlier this year indicated the trend which many thought might reverse as the year went on.
The Chambers’ study of 800 companies compares with ISI’s 1019 pool of respondents.
Taken together with other reports the job picture does not bode well for the remainder of 2011.
President Obama hopes for re-election rests in part in the nation’s ability to improve the job picture in 2012.
The problem there for small business leaders is the growing uncertainty of healthcare reform and the threat of foreign-based competition to small employers.
We are all aware of the uncertainty built into healthcare costs by the new laws.
Less obvious is the threat to small businesses by the rising costs of materials needed to produce even the most elementary service.
As one economist, Dr. Kenneth E. Lehrer pointed out in a recent speech, “foreign competition is creeping into many non-service aspects of the economy. Even small service industries are being affected by offshore outsourcing. The costs of even the most mundane items needed to conduct business are rising due to the dollar’s decline.”
As ISI’s survey indicated, the major factor enabling small businesses to remain profitable is the declining costs of managing functional areas due to the automation available on the web.