It’s not as though entrepreneurs like Alan Bain of World-Wide Business Centres are holding back on hiring because they a bunch of pessimists.
Quite the contrary.
These small-business owners are more optimistic than they were last year, according to a survey that is coming out this week.
In fact, 70 percent said they were confident things were getting better, compared with 55 percent who had the same opinion last year.
“We saw a year of recovery in 2013,” said Michael Alter, CEO and president of SurePayroll, which conducted the survey.
“Seeing that optimism is higher going into 2014 gives us reason to believe small-business owners are confident about the future, which typically results in increased hiring and growth.
“Another sign of a stronger 2014 is the fourth-quarter decline we’ve seen [nationally] in 1099s” — the tax filings of independent contractors hired by small businesses.
“The slowdown in the use of independent contractors suggests small-business owners may look to invest more in full-time hires in the year ahead,” Alter said.
While the tea leaves may point to more hiring, the stats support Bain’s view.
Month over month, hiring was down 0.1 percent and paychecks were down 0.2 percent in December.
Year over year, nationwide hiring is down 1.7 percent, and paychecks are down 0.3 percent.