Study finds small businesses expecting to hire

9/6/2011

If small business growth is the key to economic recovery, the horizon is brightening. A recent survey found a surprisingly large number of small firms plan to hire soon.

According to research by Pepperdine University Graziadio School of Business and Management in Los Angeles, more than 40 percent of small businesses plan to hire new employees within the next six months.

"Small businesses should be a top consideration as the President and other legislators seek to jump start job creation," lead researcher and associate professor of finance John Paglia said. "Establishing market confidence, improving access to capital and improving regulatory and tax structures are the most direct route to end the Great Recession and spark the Great Recovery."

Job creation has been a major political topic as the 2012 election approaches. Although national unemployment rates have shown slow improvement since a high of 10.1 percent in October of 2009, no significant gains have been made.

Small businesses have created the majority of new jobs in the past decade, and more than half of U.S. private sector employees work for smaller firms. Through programs such as SBA lending and the White House's Small Business Jobs Act, government initiatives have made a push to foster new employment and growth.