U.S. Small Business Hiring Plans Plunged in November, Hit Four-Year Low—WSJ Real-Time Economy Blog

Small Business Owners Hiring Intentions for the Next 12 Months Dropped to -4 in November, Down from +10 in July

Jeffrey Sparshott at the Wall Street Journal Real-Time Economy Blog reports the news:  

In a sign of deep pessimism about the economy, U.S. small-business hiring plans plunged to their lowest level in four years last month, a survey released Thursday said. 

Small-business owners’ net hiring intentions for the next 12 months dropped to -4 in November, down from a reading of +10 in July and matching the previous record low from November 2008, according to the quarterly Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index survey. The November WSJ/Vistage survey of small businesses also noted a deterioration in hiring plans. (See full results of the WSJ/Vistage survey here.)

The negative reading indicates that more businesses expect to decrease the number of jobs at their company than expect to increase it–21% of owners plan to cut payrolls while only 17% plan to boost hiring. The rest expect no change.