Switchfast Blog: The Future of IT
Small Business Sees Rise in Confidence
Tuesday, June 08, 2010 by Matt Hymel
April showers usually bring May flowers. In this case, the
improving state of the economy brings an increase in small business
confidence levels.
According to a report from Businessweek.com, "Confidence
among U.S. small businesses rose in May to the highest level since
September 2008."
This finding seems to agree with others recently circulating in
the news:
- PC
shipments saw a favorable 22.7% jump in year over year growth,
with ASUS, Lenovo, and Acer showing the greatest range of growth
from 136.2% to 58.5% to 47.1%, respectively. Specifically, notebook
shipments led the way, showing a 26.5% increase for the quarter.
Desktops, still resilient, rose 1% last quarter, the first time
since 2Q 2008. iSuppli adds that "PC shipments are expected to
increase by 17 percent this year."
-
TechServe Alliance, a company that represents IT services firms,
clients, consultants and suppliers, reported a gain of 7,300 IT jobs to 3.9
million in May for the U.S. workforce. The CEO, Mark Roberts,
stated that "the IT sector remains on a steady growth
trajectory."
- National
Federation of Independent Business's optimism index rose to 92.2 in
May, up 1.6 from the previous month
- Plans
for capital investment rose one point to a net (difference between
positive and negative responses) 20%, matching the highest level
since November 2008
- There
was an 8% positive gain in the outlook and expectations for
business conditions 6 months from now
The economy is growing, based on recent reports and sentiment.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, "small
businesses represent more than 99% of all U.S. employers (defined
as an independent enterprise with up to 250 people) and have
created 64% of all new jobs in the past 15 years." This goes to
show that small businesses are beginning to emerge from
conservative maintenance and benefiting from an increase in
risk-taking.
John Herrmann, a senior macro strategist at State Street Global
Markets in Boston, told Businessweek.com "we're seeing the
slightest indications that business hiring and risk-taking in the
form of expansion and business formations may be taking place". CEO
Jeffrey Immelt of GE claims that companies of all sizes are
benefiting from the "very good and improving" U.S. economy.
It is evident that small business owners have higher hopes for
the future of small business enterprise, especially since the U.S.
thrives on the innovation and success of small companies. There
will be a dramatic shift in economic standards and don't be
surprised to see small businesses at the center of it.
Until Next Time -
Matthew Hymel
Switchfast Technologies
Chicago IT Support &
Consulting
Rochester
IT Support & Consulting
Leave comment: