Wells Fargo/Gallup Index: Small business owners remain wary about hiring in 2010

According to the latest Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index, conducted April 12-16,
small businesses remain hesitant to add more employees despite recent government
incentives to promote hiring. When asked whether tax credits for hiring unemployed
workers would encourage them to hire new employees in 2010, over half (52 percent) of
respondents said “very unlikely.”

As business owners keep an eye on the economic recovery in America, they appear to be
operating in a static environment with 53 percent of business owners maintaining
current staffing levels - only hiring as many employees as needed. Additionally, when
asked about changes in available weekly hours for employees, 67 percent of business
owners say they have kept weekly hours the same. Nineteen (19) percent said they were
decreasing hours.

“Small businesses are critical to the health and strength of our economy, as they
employ about half of the private sector workforce and create more than 60 percent of
net new jobs annually in the U.S.,” said Doug Case, Small Business Segment manager
at Wells Fargo. “This has been a challenging period for small businesses. They are
looking for assurance of an economic rebound before staffing for growth.”

While many business owners are hiring only as many workers as they need, 34 percent
reported hiring fewer employees than needed. Of the reasons cited, 81 percent say
they worry revenues or sales won’t be sufficient to justify adding more employees.
Other reasons given include concerns about the potential cost of providing healthcare
(65 percent).

Despite a challenging economy and uncertain times, the survey showed that small
business owners retain their characteristic perseverance , with the majority
(80 percent) saying they would become a small business owner all over again if
they had to.

About the Small Business Index
For the last 28 quarters, the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index has surveyed
small business owners on current and future perceptions of their business financial
situation. Results are based on telephone interviews with 603 small business owners
in all 50 United States conducted April 12-16, 2010.