Capital One’s (NYSE: COF) small business banking unit released a new survey on Tuesday indicating that 73% small businesses across the country believe that the economy will stay the same or improve during the next six months.
The results of the survey indicated that 47% of small businesses surveyed said that they believed the economic conditions for their businesses will remain steady during the next six months. 26% of small business owners said that their economic outlook was improving and 28% said that their financial position is better than it was at the same time in 2009.
“At the onset of the economic recession, small businesses across the country were among the most heavily impacted by the downturn. However, the results of our survey suggest that we’re starting to see a leveling-off effect,” said Robert M. Kottler, Executive Vice President of Small Business Banking at Capital One. “Financial conditions for many small businesses have remained relatively constant over the past year. The lack of further deterioration and a growing access to capital are reasons to be cautiously optimistic as we look ahead.”
The survey indicated that 78% of those surveyed believe that they have access to adequate financing to expand their business, but most small businesses surveyed said they have no plans to make major investments during the next 6 months.
28% of small businesses said that they planned on hiring new employees during the next 6 months and 46% said that they do not plan on hiring any new employees or making any new investments or expenditures during the next 6 months.
