Small-business index gains in April - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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points in April, with a majorityh of business owners expecting the economh to improve over the next three to six The percentage of small business owners who are optimistif about the economy jumped 24 pointw inthe ' monthly survey. Sales expectations, whicjh hit a record low in March, improved by 20 Scores for six other indicators also enabling the index to riseto 86.8 still far below 100, the leve that reflects small business conditions in 1986. NFIB Chievf Economist William Dunkelbergcautioned “the improved numberd were still very low,” so “no immediate turnabout” is likelh for the economy.
Abouy 30 percent of small businesses reducedr employment over the pastthree months, compared with 4 percent that increasee the size of their work force. “Itg appears that owners are not through withtheir labor-basedd cost cutting,” Dunkelberg said. A net 14 percent of small-business owners reported that loans were harderto get, the highesr reading since the recession of the early